Break the Ice
by Science-Fantasy93
Summary: All James wants is a fresh start in a new town with no drama. But things get complicated when he befriends hockey players Kendall, Logan & Carlos & joins them in the war between the hockey team & the ice skaters. The last thing he wanted was to make an enemy out of Kendall's sister, Katie, or become attracted to her. But breaking the ice may be harder than he expected...
1. Chapter 1

**_Whoo! First I update Touch The Flame, I post two versions of a one-shot, I update DLS-S Cruise, and then I post a new story! I'm doing great here! Also, I probably shouldn't be posting a new story, when I already have two multi-chapter stories up, but this one's been begging to be posted for days._  
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**_Disclaimer: The people who own Big Time Rush are filthy rich. I am not filthy rich. Therefore, I do not own Big Time Rush._**

**_Okay, so, you guys probably don't care how this idea came about in the first place, and you definitely don't need to know. But, I'm gonna tell you anyway, because of the long process it's gone through. Bonus points for actually reading this ;) The original concept for this began back in December, when I realized that people tend to support either sports, or something artsy, like a play. I originally thought it'd be a dance vs. hockey story, but it morphed pretty quickly into an acting vs. hockey story. I tried writing a Jatie story just like that, but I got blocked right away. Eventually, I realized that I needed to switch the artsy-thing out for ice skating. Ice skating verses hockey? Perfect! I tried writing that story with Jatieluv (the other half of JatieFantasy) who was nice enough to humor my obsession with this particular concept (thank you for that!). But I still couldn't get the idea out of my head. Everything finally fell into place when I woke up one morning and BOOM! The idea began to form. Within about ten minutes, I had pretty much the entire plot and the story figured out in my head._**

**_Just to clear some things up: James has a younger brother in this, and his name is Shane. I know, I know, using Shane as James' brother is not original in the least. But James needed a brother, and somehow, Shane's name just fit him perfectly. Also, Katie is Kendall's twin sister, because I needed her to be in the same grade as them. Plus, they're all still in high school, so they're younger than what I usually write them. Another thing: I know practically nothing about hockey or ice skating. I'm trying to learn more about it, but if you know anything about hockey or ice skating, and I've made any mistakes, I'm really sorry, and please bear with me, and maybe point out the mistakes? That way I can learn from them :)_**

**_So, once again, special thanks to Jatieluv for letting me figure out what I needed to with this story, and for reading the first chapter :)_**

**_Sorry for the extra long A/N that's probably twice as long as the chapter..._**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

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**Chapter One: Fresh Start, New Enemies**

**James's POV**

A fresh start.

That's what my mom told my younger brother and me when she announced that we were moving from Shakopee, Minnesota, to La Castillo, a small town south of Los Angeles. However, she conveniently forgot to mention how difficult and awkward fresh starts are. If she had, Shane and I might have fought harder against the move than we initially did.

_Maybe_. That wasn't something I really wanted to think about too hard, to be completely truthful. Mom had her reasons for moving us westward, to her hometown. Those reasons included Shane, a secret he had been keeping for close to two years, and, well, me.

What can I say? People at our old school were all assholes. I wasn't sorry to be out.

On the other hand, that didn't mean that I wanted to be in a brand new school, in a town I had only visited a few times in my entire life, and never for more than a week, and not since I was 12.

La Castillo High School had been in session for a month. It was the first week of October now, and by this time, everyone would have found their cliques, their groups, their little social circles. And where did that leave Shane and me? On the outskirts, on the outside looking in.

Not a prospect I was particularly looking forward to.

Beside me, Shane shifted uncomfortably, hands stuffed in his jeans pocket. I could tell he was both bored, and anxious. Ever since the shit hit the fan at our old school, he hadn't felt completely safe anywhere, not even in our own home. Granted, it was a new house, in a completely style than our old one, in a completely different neighborhood, in a completely different area, and we were still getting used to it. But still. He was scared in his own bedroom. My fifteen year old brother had taken to crawling into bed with me, because of the damage that had been done.

I clenched my jaw, just thinking about it, vowing to myself for the twenty billionth time that the bastards who had done this to him would pay for what they did. Preferably in blood.

I'm not a violent person by nature, outside of the hockey rink. But no one messes with my brother, and no one traumatizes him beyond belief.

So yeah, I was a little pissed off by the situation. But we were dealing with it as best as we could. And in my opinion, Shane was doing pretty damn good. He could have just locked himself in his bedroom and never come out, but yet, here he was, standing next to me in the school's office, waiting for our class schedules to be printed up.

Shane shifted again, and I glanced at him. He gave me a small smile. "It's too bad I'm a year younger than you, otherwise we could have been in some of the same classes."

I smiled back. "You could always skip a grade," I joked.

"Or you could just get yourself held back," he cracked back.

"Ehhhh…"

"Hotter girls in the eleventh grade?"

I grinned. "That's what I hear."

"Have fun."

"Always."

He laughed, just as the secretary handed us our schedules.

I looked down the list. "What time's your lunch and study hall periods?"

"Lunch is fifth period. Study hall's second period, though."

"We have the same lunch period, but study hall's sixth period for me."

The secretary looked at us. "You have study hall with your grade, unless there's a reason why you can't make it. We have some figure skaters in this school who use their study halls to practice."

"They leave campus?" I asked in surprise. At my old school, that would never have been tolerated.

She shook her head. "They rent out one of the rinks for practice. They practice here after school too, since the local ice rink is under construction."

"How long has that been going on?" I asked her.

"Oh, for the last three years or so."

"That's quite a while for construction on an ice rink," I commented lightly.

"The town keeps changing their minds. Some of the people want it just torn down completely, since the high school has two ice rinks, and the competitive skaters can just rent one of them for a few hours. But other people want the ice rink to be rebuilt."

"There should be a local ice rink," I stated blandly. "It's just common sense. If there's competitive ice skaters, then they should practice at that rink. Ice skating isn't a high school sport."

There was a loud snort from behind me, and I turned to find a blonde girl, wearing a striped pink button up blouse and a gray pleated skirt.

I eyed her. "Something you want to say?"

"Nothing at all," she replied coolly. She walked over to the secretary, and passed her a clipboard. "This is the student council's opinions on whether or not the cafeteria should serve yogurt or not."

"You guys are voting over yogurt?" I asked, completely stunned. Since when was yogurt an important topic?

"Yes," the girl said crisply, as she smoothed any non-existent winkles out of her blouse. "Some of us need a lighter option for lunch. We have figure skating practice after."

Oops…So she was one of the figure skaters in this school. She probably thought I had insulted her rights as a figure skater going to high school. My bad.

"I wasn't trying to insult you," I told her, trying to repair any damage I might have done. "I was just saying…Ice skating isn't typically a high school sport."

"We rent out the rink. We have just as much reason to practice here as the hockey heads do."

Shane and I looked at each other, our jaws clenching as one. We had played hockey at our old school, and it was extremely irritating to have someone call us _hockey heads_.

A small smirk circled the girl's lips. "Ah. You two are hockey players, aren't you?"

"At our old school we were," Shane told her.

"Well, you're in luck. Two of the hockey heads have just been kicked off the team. If you hurry, you might be able to join the puck-faces."

Okay, I was so done trying to get along with this girl.

"Just go back to picking out shiny leotards," I snapped at her.

She sniffed, and then stalked out of the office, nose held high.

"Congratulations," came another voice from behind me. "You just made enemies with the student body president, who also happens to be one of the most popular girls in school."

Whoops.

"She's lovely," I said sarcastically, turning to face the guy who had come up behind me. He was shorter than me by about five inches, and was wiry, with short, spiky dark hair, brown eyes.

He gave me a crooked smile, half amused, half wary. "If you think she's bad, you should meet her friends."

"Aw, man, do I have to?" I mock-whined, and he laughed.

"Not if you're lucky. But you'll probably run into them at some point."

"How many figure skaters are in this school?" I asked him.

"Six. Four girls, two guys."

"Ah. Cool."

"Yeah. I'm Logan Mitchell," he added. "Your guide. You must be…James and Shane Diamond?"

We both nodded.

"Nice to meet you," he said, suddenly all business. He glanced at the watch that hung off his wrist. "Well, come on. I need to show you two to your lockers, and then direct you to your homerooms. You have your locker combinations and your schedules?"

Shane and I both nodded again. We had had our locker numbers and combos e-mailed to us the afternoon before, and the numbers were now stored in our phones.

"Good. Let's go." He bustled out of the office with a curt nod to the secretary.

Shane and I exchanged slightly apprehensive looks, and followed Logan out. I couldn't help but thing sarcastically to myself that this Logan Mitchell guy must be the center of attention at parties. I smiled a little at the thought of him with a lampshade on his head.

Shane glanced at me curiously.

"I'll tell you later," I mouthed to him, and he nodded.

"Your lockers are just a few spaces down from each other's," Logan announced, sounding bored. I was just waiting for him to yawn.

Logan led us outside, to a courtyard, lined with lockers. I had heard that a lot of schools in California had their halls and lockers outside, but I had never actually seen it. It was just surreal.

Shane found his locker quickly. Logan managed to flag down a kid in the tenth grade who was in Shane's homeroom and study hall. Logan instructed him to accompany Shane to make sure he found his way around okay. We had been given maps, but according to Logan, it could still be a little hard to navigate your way around the school if you didn't know it very well.

"If there was time, I would give him a detailed tour," Logan said to me as we watched Shane head off towards one of the buildings with the kid in his grade. "He's the shyer one, huh?"

"Just quiet," I said simply. "He had a hard time at our old school."

Logan nodded in understanding as we began moving down the outside hall, towards my locker. "I'm gonna guess that you were the popular one of the two of you?"

I frowned slightly. "Not really…What makes you say that?"

A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. "You have that look about you. Like…you're this all-American guy, but you're not going to put up with anyone's bullshit. Plus, and I mean this in a totally platonic way, you're shockingly good looking."

"Not really," I argued.

He gave me a small smirk. "Trust me, you'll have girls lining up to talk to you. You could be a model."

"Thanks, but I think I'll stick with hockey," I quipped.

"You play hockey?"

"Yeah, at my old school."

"We just got a couple of openings on our hockey team here. You should try out. Does Shane play hockey too?"

I nodded. "He's good."

"What about you?"

I grinned. "I'm not too bad myself."

"Good. That's two hockey players, right there. We don't have the largest team, if you get my drift."

"People don't want to play hockey? How is that possible?" I cried in astonishment.

"I know. But a lot of the guys think they'll have to share the rink with the figure skaters."

"Do you ever have to?"

"On the occasion," he admitted, a little reluctantly. "If there's a problem with one of the ice rinks, or if it's already been booked for a birthday party or something."

"You guys seriously need an ice rink outside of the school."

"Tell me about it. But the figure skaters don't think so. And it's them, their friends, and family who are voting no on it."

"But it's six figure skaters…"

"Everyone knows everyone in this town. Believe me, six figure skaters can make a huge difference. And according to them, because they're in high school, and in a competitive sport, they should be allowed to practice at the high school."

"It kind of makes sense," I said slowly. "But if it's pushing the school hockey team aside…"

"It does sometimes. The problem is, like you said, we're both kind of entitled to the rinks. They're paying for it, and we're on the school hockey team. When two groups are entitled to something, then the question is: _Who is entitled to it more_?"

"The hockey team," I said at once.

"Ah, but we're not paying for it. The money goes to the school."

"But don't you have to pay for the uniforms and the equipment…?"

"Yeah. But not for the rink. And the ice skaters have to pay for all their stuff too."

I nodded. "That's a huge problem."

"It's really complicated," Logan agreed as we reached my locker. "Here we are."

I turned to my locker, and checked my phone for the combination. I got it open, and began to unpack my backpack, leaving only my pencil case, my phone and iPod, and my geometry textbook, notebook, calculator, and compass.

"You're in geometry?" Logan said to me, noting the textbook.

I nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"Nope, I'm in advanced calc. But my friend's in that class. He's another hockey player. He plays left wing."

"Cool," I said, smiling a little.

"Yeah. And it looks like we're in the same homeroom too. Come on, you can sit with Kendall and me."

I slung my backpack over my shoulders again, and we headed towards the designated classroom.

We reached the classroom with five minutes to spare, and Logan led me towards a tall, lean boy with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. The boy was wearing a beanie and a flannel shirt. He reminded me of a skater. I half-expected to see a skateboard sticking out from his backpack.

"Hey, Kendall," Logan greeted him. "This is James. He's new."

I gave him a wave. "Hey."

Kendall smiled at me. "Nice to meet you."

"James is also a hockey player," Logan added.

"What position do you play?" Kendall asked as I sat down with him and Logan.

"I play center, and my brother plays right wing."

Logan and Kendall glanced at each other. "We have an opening for center and left defenseman. I play right wing," Logan said to me.

"Maybe I can get Shane to try for left defenseman," I said with a shrug. "He's kind of always wanted to try that position, but he was always placed as right wing."

"He can give it a try," Kendall agreed. "Who knows? He might actually be pretty good."

I nodded. "So, when's tryouts?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," he told me. "After school."

"Okay, cool. So, what happened to the two players? And can't you just bring in the players that usually sit on the bench?"

"They were caught on campus with alcohol, so they were kicked out of school. La Castillo High School has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol and illegal substances," Logan informed me.

"Ah." I nodded in understanding. "So, note to self – never smoke or do drugs or drink on campus."

Kendall grinned. "That about sums it up."

"Hey, are we allowed to bring in cough syrup?" I couldn't resist asking. "There's alcohol in that…"

"Nope. We have to suffer. It really sucks during cold and flu season, because half the school gets sick, and there's nothing we can do about it, because so many medicines have a little bit of alcohol in them."

"You're kidding me."

"I wish."

"Oh man…"

"Tell me about it. And you should see Logan during that time," Kendall added with a wide grin. "He's, like, terrified of germs or something. He's a serious hypochondriac on his best day. So he goes around, wearing one of those hospital masks, with rubber gloves. Maybe this year, he'll step it up to scrubs."

I cracked up. Somehow, I could imagine Logan wearing those very clearly.

Kendall grinned. "So, what's the rest of your schedule like?"

I gave him the basic rundown.

"Cool, we have geometry and chem. lab together. We all have lunch and study hall with you," he added.

"You'll have our other friend, Carlos, in PE and chem. too," Logan put in. "I'll text him to tell him to look for you."

"Thanks."

Wow…no one at my old school had ever been this nice to the new kid. I'm guessing it has to do with being a hockey player amongst other hockey players.

"Not a problem. You'll like him. He's really energetic and bouncy. A little scary sometimes, but in a good way."

I nodded. "Awesome. Thanks again."

"Hey, if you make it on the team, we'll be brothers of the ice," Kendall said to me with a grin. "And your brother…Where's he at?"

"Another homeroom. He's a year younger. He has lunch with us, though. His name's Shane," I added.

"Cool. Hey, I'll look for him in the halls. Being the new kid sucks," Kendall made a face. "I was the new kid three years ago, in eighth grade. I had my twin sister, but we were put in different classes, so it was still a pretty nasty experience."

I nodded in sympathy. "I bet."

The teacher, Mr. Sumner, came in and called us to order. I got to my feet, and headed up to his desk, so that he could sign the slip I had been given by the secretary. All of my teachers had to sign it today, to say that I had been added to their particular class, and then I had to turn it into the office at the end of the day.

He signed it, and then began to take attendance as I headed back to my seat. Once that was over, he turned on the TV and dimmed the lights, so that we could watch the announcements, live from the student council room. The girl who now considered me the next Big Foot was reading off the announcements. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders perfectly, and she had a perfectly angelic smile pasted on her face.

I heard a sigh, and looked to my left, to find Logan rolling his eyes at Kendall, who was staring at the class president/queen demon with a tender, enraptured look on his face.

Logan looked over at me. "Kendall's wanted Jo Taylor since freshman year," he mumbled to me. "But because she's a figure skater, and he's a hockey player, and she's kinda stuck up, she'd never go out with him."

"That sucks," I mumbled back.

Logan nodded in agreement, as he turned back to look at the TV.

A few minutes later, the announcements ended, and we all got to our feet, slinging our bags over our shoulders.

I left the classroom with Logan and Kendall. Logan walked with us towards our classroom, and left us once we had reached the geometry classroom.

Kendall and I headed in. He nodded towards the teacher sitting at the desk. "That's Mr. Clausenheimer. He lives and breathes math."

"That's creepy," I said, gritting my teeth at the very idea.

"It is," he agreed.

I got the paper signed by Clausenheimer, and went to sit with Kendall. Another guy joined us a moment later.

Kendall introduced me to Dak Zevon, who played right defenseman.

Dak was just beginning to ask me questions about my old school, when Jo Taylor walked into the room, with a cute brunette.

"That's Camille Roberts with Jo Taylor," Kendall hissed at me. "Logan may think it's pathetic that I'm drooling over Jo, but he secretly likes Camille."

"He could do worse," Dak pointed out to Kendall. "Jo's can be kind of a snob – no offense – but Camille's pretty nice. She scares Logan, though. She's kind of aggressive toward him."

"Aggressive how?"

"Let me put it this way – Logan keeps his jeans zipper out of arms reach when he passes her in the hallway."

I busted out laughing. "And she hangs out with _Jo Taylor_? Oh, sorry, Kendall."

"I'm used to it," he grumbled. "I'm used to everyone hating on the love of my life."

Dak snorted. "Too bad she doesn't know she's the love of your life. Anyway, Camille's the least stuck up of the ice skaters…Well, except for one of the guys, Kyle. He's cool. But the other skaters…Well…" He looked apologetically at Kendall. "Sorry…"

"It's fine," he said brusquely. "You're right."

Dak sighed, and shook his head, just as the bell rang. Clausenheimer started class a few seconds later, and we got to work.

Geometry isn't my best subject, but in the month that I'd been taking it, I'd managed to get a C-plus, B-minus average in it. Luckily, Shakopee High School seemed to have a similar curriculum as Maple Avenue High. And no matter how creepy it was that Clausenheimer lived and breathed math, he seemed to be a better teacher than my old geometry teacher. It was a major improvement. My old geometry teacher used to tell us to read the chapter and do the problems, and then he'd fall asleep. Pretty bad when the teacher is bored with his own subject.

Once class was over, Kendall and Dak headed off in different directions than me. I followed the map to the gymnasium. I located it easily, and stepped into the boys' locker room.

I couldn't have taken more than two steps in when I was nearly run over by what seemed to be a little ball of energy.

"Hi! You're James, right? I'm Carlos! Kendall and Logan told me that you're our new friend!"

I blinked down at him. He was small, probably around 5'6, and Latino, with bright, friendly eyes, and a happy, sweet smile.

"Yeah, that's me. Kendall and Logan told me to look for you," I added, giving him a smile in return.

He led me over to the lockers. "You got your PE clothes?"

"Yep. The school sent them to me a couple of days ago."

We changed into the school designated gray shorts and dark blue t-shirt, and then headed out into the gym.

Some of the girls were already there; two brunettes were huddled in a corner, whispering.

Carlos's eyes lit up. "See those girls over there?" He nodded to them.

"Yeah."

"They're figure skaters. The taller one is Stephanie King. She's a goddess."

I fought back a snort. From what Kendall, Logan, and Dak had told me, I doubted they'd agree with this sentiment. But hey, everyone was entitled to a hopeless crush now and then, right?

The other brunette was absolutely tiny. She couldn't have been taller than 5'1, and she was absolutely skinny. A definite figure skater.

As I looked at her, she turned to look at me, and I caught sight of large brown eyes. They locked with mine, and my breath caught. She was beautiful…

"That's Katie," Carlos told me.

"She's pretty," I managed to breathe out.

"They all are."

"Yeah…"

"They won't date us, though, because we're lowly hockey players." He pouted, and kicked at some non-existent dirt. "And Katie hates hockey most of all of them. If she had her way, the hockey team wouldn't even exist, and she and the other ice skaters would just get the ice rinks all to themselves."

"They're all kind of bitches, huh?"

"Yeah. Well, towards the hockey team. They're really not that bad to other people."

"So, there's kind of war between the hockey team and the ice skaters?" I confirmed.

He nodded. "It's really stupid. I don't see why we can't all just get along. We all love being on the ice. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"You'd think so…"

"There's too many politics in it now. It got too complicated."

"It sounds like it."

The PE teacher arrived, and I hurried over to him to get the paper signed.

Fifty-five minutes later, Carlos and I were heading towards chemistry. We met up with Kendall as we reached the door.

"I _really_ hope they'll let you work with us," Kendall said to me. "There's one other group of three, but I think Ms. Straumner might just put you with one of the girls from that group."

My stomach twisted. If he really didn't want me working with the girls…

"Would the girls happen to be figure skaters?"

He nodded. "Jo Taylor, Stephanie King, and Katie, my twin sister."

"Your twin sister is a figure skater?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh…wow…"

"Tell me about it. She hates hockey beyond anything else."

Just like Carlos had said.

"It must suck to live with her."

"I don't live with her. Our parents are divorced, and she lives with our dad on the other side of town. I live with my mom a few blocks from here."

"Gotcha."

"Yeah. Pretty bad when we don't even live together. She doesn't want anything to do with me," he said, sounding sad.

I couldn't imagine what it'd be like for Shane to hate me, and to go out of his way to avoid me, and he was just my little brother. Katie was Kendall's twin sister, and weren't twins supposed to have some sort of freaky connection? It had to be a hundred times worse for him. He sounded so hurt, and his eyes were sad.

Kendall and Carlos went up to Ms. Straumner's desk with me, and they told her they'd really like it if I was able to work with them.

She shook her head. "There's one other group of three, and I've been hoping to pair one of those girls up with someone else. I'm sorry, but he's going to need to work with her. These are really two-person labs."

"But…Ms. Straumner…" Kendall protested.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Knight, but my mind is made up. I'm very glad that you're helping Mr. Diamond get adjusted to his new classes, but as I said before, these labs are meant for two people."

"Well, that sucks," Carlos grumbled.

Ms. Straumner raised her eyebrows at him. He stared back at her unapologetically.

She turned to me. "So, Mr. Diamond, you'll be working with – ah. Miss Knight!"

Oh no…Miss Knight…That meant…

We all turned around, as Katie and Stephanie walked over to us. Up close, Katie was even smaller then I had thought she'd been, but she was even more gorgeous too.

"Yes, Ms. Straumner?" she spoke, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag.

"We have a new student." She nodded to me. "And we now have an even number of students in this class. So, I'm breaking up your group of three. You'll be working with Mr. Diamond."

Katie stared at her, unblinking, and Ms. Straumner stared back not backing down. After about twenty seconds, Katie looked away, and sighed, relenting. "Fine. Come on," she said to me, using the tone of voice I figured she reserved for people who scraped the blade on her ice skates. She led me over to an empty table, and dropped her stuff to the ground.

"Why couldn't you just work with the hockey heads?" she demanded as she began setting up.

"We asked, but Ms. Straumner said that the labs were meant for two people."

She snorted. "My brother and Carlos could use a third person. They're not exactly rocket scientists, if you get my drift."

I blinked at her, and bristled slightly. Kendall and Carlos had been nothing but nice to me, and she was going out of her way to make me feel like an outcast.

"Have you been to a doctor about getting your attitude adjusted?" I snapped angrily.

Her eyes widened, and then narrowed as she took in what I had just said.

"Did the hockey head just insult me?" Her voice rang with disbelief.

"Yeah, the hockey head did just insult you. You seriously need to learn some manners. I don't know what book you learned them from, but you seemed to have missed an important lesson or two."

I sat down at the table, and pulled out my phone to send a quick text to Shane, to see how he was doing.

Katie didn't sit down, however. She just kept standing. In her two inch heels, she barely stood an inch above me. Nevertheless, she had her arms crossed, her glare burning into the side of my head.

I texted Shane, and then looked up at her. "Can I help you with something?"

Apparently sensing that I wasn't going to apologize to her, or be terrified of her glare, she dropped into the chair next to me.

Luckily, our class activities were all reading today, so I didn't have to talk to Katie once class started. We were starting a new section, so we wouldn't have a lab until tomorrow.

Class finally ended after fifty minutes of intense tension and hatred passing back and forth between Katie and me. Longest fifty minutes ever.

The bell rang, and we both leapt to our feet, packing our bags up. She rushed out of there, grabbing Stephanie and Jo by their arms as she passed by their table. She had a furious expression on her face, and I knew I had just succeeded in making a new enemy.

Oops…

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_**Okay...here's the part where I ask you what you guys think...Did you like it? Did you hate it? Was it okay? Was it halfway decent? Let me know, okay? The review button and I will both be very grateful :)**_


	2. Chapter 2: The Ice Queen

**_Whoo Hoo! Chapter Two is up!_  
**

**_Disclaimer: I'm dis claiming that I own Big Time Rush. Hence the disclaimer. :)_**

**_Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing! And thank you! :)_**

**_Thank you so much to everyone who has already reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! I love you guys so much!_**

**_Enjoy the chapter :)_**

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**Chapter Two: The Ice Queen**

**James's POV**

It was a relief to get out of the chemistry lab, and away from Katie's stony silence. She had already made it very clear that wanted absolutely nothing to do with me, but we had two classes together, and we were lab partners. We weren't going to be able to avoid each other. Plus, if I made it onto the hockey team, we would probably be constantly fighting over the ice.

Kendall and Carlos caught up with me. "Lunch?" Carlos said to me.

I nodded. "Thank goodness, I'm starving."

"Me too! School makes me hungry and tired! I'm ready for a break."

Kendall chuckled. "So, how was it being partnered with my sister?" he asked me.

"Ummm…"

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, kinda…I mean, no offense or anything, but she's not really all that nice…"

"I know. She doesn't like hockey players."

"I'm not even on the team, yet."

"Yeah, but you're hanging out with us 'hockey heads'. To her, that alone should condemn you to burn at the stake."

"Oh, great."

"Yeah…"

We ran into Logan on his way out of the classroom he had been in.

"So, figured out the cure for cancer, yet?" Carlos asked him.

"No, but we're working on it."

"He's taking advanced biology," Kendall explained to me.

"I didn't know there was such a thing…"

"Well, there is, and this genius here happened to find it."

"Awesome."

Logan grinned. "So, how was chemistry?"

"Awful," I groaned.

"Ms. Straumner put him with Katie," Carlos explained to Logan. "And Katie hates him."

"Plus, I might have insulted her…"

"What did you say?" Logan asked me.

"She said something about…someone…So I suggested she get an attitude adjustment. She just gaped at me like she couldn't believe I'd just said that."

"I can believe it. People don't insult Katie Knight very often. You just…don't. She's a force to be reckoned with. She's tiny, but she's a nasty guard dog."

"And she doesn't like me…I'm so screwed, aren't I?"

"Well, you never know. She's going to want a good grade in chem., so she might tolerate you."

"That's good to know…I guess…"

"And we have her in PE," Carlos piped up. "And you might have her in your last period," he added to me. "What is your last period?"

"English."

"You might."

"As long as I don't have to work with her…"

He shrugged in response.

We reached the cafeteria, and got into the lunch line.

"Oh, boy, figure skaters at two-o-clock," Logan alerted us, nodding towards the door. Sure enough, all four girls were walking into the cafeteria. It was my first time seeing all four girls together, and my eyebrows immediately shot up. All four of them were pleated or flared skirts, button-up blouses, and heels or sneakers.

_Abercrombie and Fitch_ say what?

"They're dressed like clones," I said out loud.

"That's their standard wear. They're wearing their ice skating dresses under their clothes. They only have a limited amount of time on the rink, so every second counts. They wear clothes that they can get on and off easily," Kendall explained to me.

"Sometimes they'll wear t-shirts or sweaters or tank tops," Carlos added to me. "But always skirts."

"I guess they're easiest to get off," Logan put in. "Plus, they cover up their dresses."

"They sometimes just wear a jacket over their ice skating dresses," Carlos said. "But it's rare. The teachers don't like it very much – they think it'll be distracting, because of how tight and sparkly their dresses are."

"That makes sense," I agreed as we moved up a little in the lunch line.

"Yeah. I know if Stephanie wore that every day, I'd _never_ be able to concentrate."

"You barely can anyway," Logan teased him.

"Shut up. I'm just a very energetic and creative person."

"Uh huh…"

"I am!" he insisted, pouting.

Kendall laughed, rolling his eyes, as he stepped forward to get his lunch.

A few minutes later, we were all seated at a table, along with Shane, on one end of the cafeteria, with the figure skaters on the other end.

The girls were eating salad and yogurt, and the two guys on the team were downing protein shakes.

"They get creative for lunch," I commented dryly, nodding towards the ice skaters.

"Oh, yeah, they kind of need to be able to keep light. Lots of lean muscle," Logan said to me. "But then, I take it you know that?"

I nodded, and Shane smiled a little. We'd figure skated when we were younger. I had done it because I loved it. Shane had done it to keep me company. He had quit when he was in fifth grade. I hadn't stopped until the end of eighth grade, when my dad had made me choose between ice skating and hockey.

I never completely forgave him for that.

I took a bite of my sandwich, glancing over at the figure skater's table again, and my eyes locked with Katie's. In that split second, I completely forgot about chewing. It was as if I was being pulled towards her, like she was the North Pole, and I was south. In that moment, I had never wanted anyone more than I wanted her. It was all I could do to keep from getting up, rushing over there, and pinning her to the table while kissing her senseless.

Somehow or other, I managed to drag my eyes away from hers, and I remembered that chewing is essential when eating.

I managed to swallow, and downed my water bottle, trying not to pant.

What the fuck just happened? What the hell was _that_?

In the back of my mind, I realized exactly what it was. It was lust, or attraction, in its rawest, roughest form.

Oh…That's not good…

"You okay?" Logan said to me, obviously noticing that I was silently freaking out.

Yep, I'm great. Just about ran over to try and fuck Kendall's twin sister against the cafeteria wall. Nothing off about that, right?

I nodded, and drank some more water. Kind of the only thing I could do at the moment.

Carlos stuffed his macaroni and cheese into his mouth, humming through his food happily.

I chuckled slightly. From what I had seen, he was the sweet, energetic one, and innocently childish. Definitely the comic relief and the free spirit of the group.

I ate some of my own macaroni and cheese, licking the cheese from my lips.

"Ahem."

We all looked up to see Katie standing next to our table.

I ignored the way my face suddenly began to heat up.

"What's up?" Kendall asked Katie.

"I just wanted to confirm that I'll be staying with Mom, and you'll be staying with Dad, this weekend," she said crisply to him.

He nodded. "That's the plan, per usual."

"Okay. I'll see you later." She gave us an ice queen smile, before spinning around, and sauntering back to her table, her short skirt swishing around her thighs. I spent the next five seconds trying to catch my breath. Oh my gosh…

"And that just about sums up Katie's and my relationship," Kendall said to me.

"I keep telling him that he and Katie should do something together," Carlos spoke up. "But he won't listen to me."

"It'd take some major sibling bonding for us to become even remotely close again," Kendall replied with a shake of his head.

Logan nodded in agreement. "You two need to mend your sibling bond."

"No shit."

"So, how've your classes been so far?" Logan asked Shane.

"They've been good," Shane answered as he stirred his mac n' cheese. "The teachers here seem really nice."

"They are, for the most part," Logan agreed. "So, James said you're a hockey player too."

"Yep. Hockey's, like, my life."

"Yours and mine both," Kendall said to him, and him and Shane fist-bumped.

I grinned a little. It was nice to meet someone who shared Shane's passion for hockey. Even back home in Minnesota, where hockey was, like, the state sport, no one had felt about hockey the way that Shane did. But I could tell Kendall did, for sure. There was a blaze in his eyes that would ignite whenever hockey was mentioned. It was the same blaze that Shane would get.

We finished eating lunch, and got up to throw our garbage away. Study hall was next, so we headed to our lockers, while Shane made his way to his history class. We grabbed what we needed out of our lockers, and walked towards the library.

On our way, we passed by the cafeteria again, where the figure skaters were filing out. They threw us sneers as they passed in front of us.

Kendall, Logan, and even Carlos, grinded their teeth, before we continued on into the library.

We found a table quickly, and sat down, spreading everything out. We got started on our work, all of us plugging into our iPods and MP3 Players.

It was quiet, and there was a lot less tension without the figure skaters around. That was nice.

I managed to get my geometry homework out of the way, and I got started on my chemistry homework, which was really just a basic worksheet to make sure we understood the reading.

Eventually, the bell rang, and it was time to head to English class.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

"So, what do you think of the new boy?" Camille asked me as we got off of the ice, and headed towards the girls' locker room.

"James Diamond?" I asked, winkling my nose. "He's another hockey head."

"Yeah, but he's a hot hockey head. I mean, Logan's hot too, and Carlos and Kendall are both cute – "

"Ew! That's my brother!"

" – But damn! James could be a model!"

"Plenty of guys could be models," I reminded her.

"Just admit it. He's hot, and you know it."

I crossed my arms. "I know no such thing."

"Who are we talking about?"Jo asked as she and Stephanie caught up with us.

"James Diamond."

"Oh, yeah, him. He's hot."

"See?" Cami smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes.

"But he doesn't like figure skaters," Stephanie spoke up. "That's what you told us," she added to Jo.

"Nooo…I said he felt that the hockey team should come first. That doesn't mean he dislikes figure skaters. It just means he prefers hockey. Although, believe me, he's totally a hockey head," Jo added with disgust. "Probably as bad as Kendall – no offense," she added to me quickly.

"None taken. Kendall's the worst out of all of them – well, except for Jordan Talbot, the captain."

"He believes hockey is the reason why the earth was created," Stephanie agreed. "The guy's got a one track mind. And not the fun kind of one track mind."

We all stared at her for a moment, before pushing into the girls' locker room, to pull our clothes on over our ice skating dresses.

"I have English next," I sighed. "I hate English. Mrs. Waddleburger hates me."

"First of all, it's Mrs. Wattburgon," Stephanie said to me, "and second of all, you've never liked English. It's not that she hates you, it's just that you hate the subject."

"No, I'm pretty sure Waddleburger hates me."

She groaned. "Never mind…"

"What if you have James Diamond in your class?" Jo asked me. "What're you going to do?"

I snorted. "What're the chances of that? He's already in my PE and chemistry classes. I seriously doubt he's in a third class with me."

"You'd have to be seriously unlucky for that to happen," Stephanie agreed.

"Exactly."

"Even though he is fucking hot," Cami made sure to add in.

I snorted. Okay, fine, so it was all for show. As much as I hated to admit it, James Diamond really was fucking hot. He had these beautiful large eyes that, upon first glance, looked brown, but when you actually looked at them, you realized they were flecked with green and gold. Absolutely beautiful. And then there were his lashes, which looked like they belonged on a girl. So unfair. It was enough for me to need to take a deep breath, something that doesn't happen very often.

We finished getting dressed, and headed out, towards our last classes.

I stopped in front of the door to my English classroom, made a face, and pulled the door open.

_Crap_!

James Diamond was already sitting at a desk, earbuds in his ears, texting someone. I threw him a nasty look, and he must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked up, his eyes meeting mine.

_I fucking hate you, James Diamond_.

I hated that he was prettier than me. I hated that he made me need to catch my breath. I hated that he was in three of my classes, and that we were partners in one of those classes. I hated that at every turn, he seemed to be there. I hated that he was a hockey head. And I hated that I had to force myself to feel disdain for him.

I flounced to my seat, trying to appear tougher than I felt. I sat down haughtily in my seat, and crossed my legs, chewing hard on my bottom lip.

It took all of five seconds for me to crack.

I stood up, and stomped over to his desk. "Why are you here?" I demanded.

He looked up at me, and pulled an earbud out of his ear. "Repeat that, please?"

I hated how crisp and cool his voice was, when I had heard, from across the cafeteria, how warm his voice was when talking to people he actually liked.

"Why are you here?"

"Because the schedule gods put me in this class," he deadpanned.

I scowled.

He looked up at me. "Looking for a specific answer, Ice Queen?"

"_Ice Queen_?"

"Yes. Ice Queen. I think the name suits you, don't you?"

I gaped at him. Of all the nerve…!

He blinked up at me, a small smile causing the corners of his lips to turn up. He was enjoying this. He was enjoying tormenting me.

"Problem?" he had the nerve to ask.

I desperately wished I had a bottle of water or something to pour over his head, I really did.

Nothing magically appeared in my clenched fist, however. All I could settle for was a good glare.

His small smile became a full out smirk, and I held up my middle finger. "Fuck you, Diamond."

I sashayed as best I could back to my desk, trying to save my pride and dignity, but couldn't resist a glance over my shoulder. James's eyes were fixed on my legs…or my ass…or my hips…or all three.

A small smirk began to spread over my face. Obviously, teenage guys are notorious for taking horniness to the extreme. But the fact that he wasn't staring at another girl's assets (not that I had seen, anyway) told me all I needed to know. If I really wanted to, I could use this to my advantage, and damn it, if I wasn't tempted by the idea…

But before I could figure out how to tease James, the teacher, Mrs. Wadd-something-or-other, walked into the room. She gave me her usual stern expression, before turning to James and smiling sweetly at him as he bounded up to her desk.

I snorted quietly. She would probably love him. Kiss ass.

Once James sat down, Mrs. Waddleburger started the lesson. We were moving onto the second chapter in our English book, dealing with symbols in stories and allegories. There had been a brief introduction to symbolism in my tenth grade English class, and from what I remembered of it, nothing had computed. I just hadn't been able to understand any of it.

But it took James all of two minutes before he was asking the Waddling Duck questions. When she asked about a symbol in a poem, his hand shot up, and he got the answer right.

Figures. Teacher's pet, teacher's pet. Wasn't there a rhyme to it or something?

I ground my teeth. So. He had to be good looking, a smart ass, athletic, a hockey player, _and_ smart? How was it that I had only known him for a few hours, and yet he was already crawling under my skin? I despised hockey players, but never like this. I already hated James Diamond with a passion that I reserved for ice skating. He made me feel like I couldn't breathe. I felt claustrophobic in the large classroom.

And as much as I hated to admit it, there was something else. A power rush. A sense of satisfaction. A tingling. It had all hit me when I realized that he was staring at me.

But I couldn't let myself become attracted to him. He had already made it pretty clear that he hated me the same way I hated him. It would be a fatal attraction, at best.

Besides, he was a hockey player. That alone made him off limits. It made him disgusting. Low. Cheap. Animalistic.

_I bet he's good_, I thought to myself as we began packing up. I sneaked a glance at him. _I bet he's really good. I bet he's animalistic on the ice. He looks like he would be. I wonder if he is anywhere else…_

No! Oh my gosh! If there's one thing I'm good at, it's controlling my thoughts. You have to be, when so much of your safety depends on your concentration. So, lust-filled thoughts were usually only partly formed, before I rolled my eyes and chalked it up to PMS. But my period had just ended a couple of days ago, and that thought had come with a very _graphic_ mental image – one that sent shivers down my spine, and made me bite my lip.

Fuck it. Fuck it all.

I was a girl! I was an athlete! I couldn't afford to form a libido _now_! I was 16, in my athletic prime, and there was no fucking way I was going to let a fucking smart ass hockey player ruin what I've worked for my entire fucking life.

I stormed out of the classroom, in a high rage. I just needed to get back onto the ice, where I belonged. I was so thankful the hockey heads didn't have practice today, since they were a couple players short, so that I could get the good rink, if I hurried.

I stuffed what I needed into my backpack, and then marched to the girls' locker room, where I quickly stripped back down to my ice skating dress. I readied myself for practice, tying my hair up into a high ponytail, and going through my usual warm up stretches, before getting out onto the ice.

My coach, Sarah, hadn't arrived yet, so I went through my usual warm up routine alone, before switching gears, and beginning to skate as fast as I could around the rink.

Sarah eventually arrived, her thick blonde hair pulled back in a bun.

I skated over to her, halting abruptly in front of her. "I'm warmed up and ready."

She eyed me, and I prayed fervently that she couldn't tell that I was using ice skating to push a boy into the back of my mind.

"Good. Begin your routine from the top."

I did so. It was during my second move, the lutz, that Sarah stopped me.

"Your landing was a little shaky!"

How she could tell that my landing was shaky was beyond me. It had felt fine, but apparently it hadn't been.

"Start over."

Sarah was a good coach, by most accounts, but she wasn't a nice person. I was positively a Disney princess compared to her.

Ice skating coaches needed to be tough, but Sarah left no room for mistakes. I had gotten third prize at an inter-city competition the year before, but it hadn't been good enough for her. I should have gotten first, she had snapped at me, and then made me perfect every single move to a fine art. She was positive I had landed wrong, or one of my leaps hadn't been high enough, or I hadn't been graceful enough. It couldn't have been my routine, which she had put together for me, or the fact that some of the moves she had added on just a couple of days ago, so I hadn't had time to perfect them.

I didn't like her as a person, and I didn't like her as a coach, but she got me through competitions, and it was because of her that I was as good as I was.

Nevertheless, today's practice was difficult, one of the most difficult practices I had had. However, it was exactly what I needed. I focused all my energy on perfecting my routine, and by the end of it, even she couldn't complain that I hadn't put two-hundred percent into practice.

It was a good feeling, even though I was sore and hungry and tired by the end of it.

Once I was cleared to go, I dashed for the girls' locker room, and stripped, jumping into the shower. I closed my eyes as the hot water poured over my skin. This had to be the best feeling in the world. As I stood under the water, my mind wandered to food. I hadn't eaten since lunch, and I was absolutely famished, and I couldn't wait until dinner.

Once I had rinsed off, I got out, dried off, and redressed.

Sarah was waiting for me out in the hall. "Just a reminder – you nearly went up a size over the summer. Watch what you eat. And by that, I mean, stick with salads and yogurt. And _no dressing_."

My spirits plummeted. Sarah liked putting me on strict diets every now and then, when she thought I might have gained an ounce.

I had been scrawny growing up, and to be honest, I was still pretty scrawny now. I literally had no butt, so what James had been staring at, I had no idea. I had managed to get hips and a chest, more or less, but I was still skinny as ever. I had a bunch of lean muscle, and I had finally gotten myself to within a healthy weight zone the summer before.

But Sarah was strict about me maintaining my figure – or what I had of it. And apparently being within a healthy weight zone was strictly illegal, in her eyes.

"Of – of course," I said, trying not to sound sad or dismal. "I'll do it."

"Good. Go with the old diet. That worked last year."

I nodded, remembering the diet well. It basically meant me living off of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and lemon juice. I had had a dizzy spell in the middle of biology class, and had been taken to the nurse's office. The nurse had ordered me to begin eating normally again, but apparently Sarah didn't remember.

"But – remember what happened last year?" I asked weakly, knowing that her mind wouldn't be changed.

She brushed it off. "Everyone needs to make sacrifices, Katie."

Apparently my health was one of them.

I nodded again, and hurried off, biting my lip to keep from crying. I had been thinking longingly of a hot meal, of maybe some stew or clam chowder for dinner that night, but now I wouldn't get it. Sarah would make me record what I had eaten and drank down in a notebook. If she thought I was cheating on the diet, she would limit my calorie intake, and nothing I could do would stop her. She had the power. She could stop coaching me, she could take away the rink, because, in truth, she was the one who booked it and paid for it. She could refuse to enter me in competitions, or talk me up to any sponsors.

I had no choice.

The woman wanted to turn me into an anorexic, and that was what I was going to turn into.

I gritted my teeth. No…I had to fight this.

But I was tired and sad, and all I wanted to do right now was curl up on the couch in front of the TV with a big tub of ice cream.

That wasn't going to happen now.

_Well_, I decided, _I'll just make it a nice, _big_ salad. With a huge cup of tea_. It was a meager thought, but it made me feel a tiny bit better at least.

And it was with that thought that I left the school, and headed out to my car, eager for the day to be over.

I only lived a couple miles or so from the school, so it wasn't a long drive. I parked in my driveway, and went inside. I made my dinner, did my homework, and got ready for bed.

It was just as I was closing my eyes, that I remembered I was going to have to face James Diamond in four periods.

Fuck.

* * *

_**This was originally supposed to be pretty much all from James' POV, but Katie wanted her say ;) So, what'd you guys think? Did you like it? Was it okay? Let me know what you think! The review post thingy and I will really appreciate it ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3: Hockey Tryouts

**_Chapter Three! Whoo Hoo!_  
**

**_Disclaimer: Well, I'm pretty sure I've gone through this before, but just to refresh your memories, I'll say it again: I. Do. Not. Own. Big. Time. Rush._**

**_misslittlemaslow: Thank you so much, and thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it :)_**

**_Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! They always make me so happy!_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Hockey Tryouts**

**James's POV**

"Here you go," Mom said as she laid a chicken and green bean casserole on the table.

My mouth watered slightly. "It looks delicious."

She smiled at me. "Thank you. I tried out a new recipe. I hope it's okay."

"I'm sure it'll be amazing," I assured her as Shane and I began to dish up.

"So," she sat down at the table with us. "How was your first day?"

I shrugged as I took a bite. "Pretty good, actually. We met some of the guys on the hockey team. They're all in my grade, but – "

"They seem really cool," Shane broke in. "They even talked to me. I mean, obviously it's because I'm James's brother, but – "

"It's not," I insisted. "You're awesome, and they're good guys, so they see it."

"Still, those ice skaters are a piece of work. I passed by Katie Knight right before lunch, and I heard her cussing you out to her friends."

"She hates me."

Mom eyed me as she spooned some of the casserole onto her own plate. "Who's Katie Knight?"

"She's Kendall Knight's twin sister – he's one of the guys on the hockey team. She's a figure skater. There's some kind of war between the hockey players and the figure skaters, and she seems to hate the hockey players with a passion, even more than any of the hockey players hate the figure skaters."

"She especially hates James," Shane put in, "if the way she was spewing cusswords to describe you was any indication."

"My goodness, what did you do to her?" Mom cried, gaping at me.

"Nothing! Look, we got paired together in chem., and she practically threw a fit, so I put her in her place. And then we had a slight _altercation_ in English. Oh, and we have PE and lunch together."

"Four periods together?" Mom raised her eyebrows.

I nodded.

"Is she pretty?"

"_Mo_-_om_!"

"Well? Is she?"

"She's gorgeous. But her personality is all ugly. I wouldn't go out with her if you paid me."

"Which is why you were staring at her butt when she was walking across the cafeteria," Shane snickered.

"Shut up! I was not!" I cried as heat rose into my cheeks.

Mom continued to look at me, eyebrows raising even more. "James? Sweetie? Do we need to have The Talk?"

My eyes widened. "No!"

"Are you sure? Because if you're having thoughts or problems – "

I groaned. Great. She was going into her self-help-book-for-mothers-of-teenage-boys mode. I know it well. "No! Ohmigosh! No! Just because I might have been looking at her, um – "

"Assets," Shane piped up helpfully.

" – doesn't mean you need to worry! She hates me, and I hate her! You have nothing to worry about!"

"Are you sure? Because, you know, you can talk to me about anything. Thoughts, feelings, wet dreams – "

"Oh my God, please stop…"

"It's all perfectly normal for a teenager, boy and girl alike. Your hormones are going crazy at this point in your life, and it's completely normal to be curious and to want to act on these feelings."

I held my glass against my face to cool my burning skin.

"So, if you have any questions, or if you just want to talk, you can always come to me. And if you feel you may want to take the next step with this girl – "

"What part of we hate each other are you not getting?"

" – I'll even go with you to buy condoms. After all, I keep you both nicely supplied with lube."

"Oh my gosh…"

"Just know that I'll support your decision on the matter of sex no matter what."

Shane grinned widely. "Should I leave so that you two can discuss his wet dreams and feelings about Katie's butt?"

"No! God, no!" I cried, nearly dropping my glass.

"The discussion is open to you as well, Shane," Mom said to him. "I know that you're situation is a little bit different than his, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it."

"Nope, I'm good. I'd rather just let you two talk things out."

"I'd rather just finish eating," I said loudly, "and forget this conversation ever happened."

Mom pouted. "I just want to make sure both of my boys are taken care of. After all, it wasn't like your father's actually around anymore, not that he ever was."

It was true. When I was 12, my mom had gone out and bought me one of those books about puberty, since my dad was in Paris, with his latest girlfriend. Mom had told me, and encouraged me, to ask her about anything I had questions about. We'd ended up sitting down one very awkward evening, to have one of the longest, most embarrassing conversations of my entire life. That conversation quite possibly trumped this one. No, actually, it did. Very little tops having to discuss masturbating, erections, and wet dreams with your mother.

Luckily, Shane didn't really get knee-deep into puberty until he was nearly 14, and by that time I was old hat at everything, so I was able to talk to him about the issues at hand, and answer all his queries. That night was the first time I was ever thankful that my dad wasn't around. He would have gone ballistic at some of the things Shane had had to ask me about.

I still blush and shudder like crazy whenever that conversation with my mom comes to mind, though.

"We know," I assured her. "And we appreciate it. But believe me, nothing's going to be happening with Katie. We don't like each other in the least."

"But hatred is passion and passion is passion no matter how you title it, and it can be very easy to get caught up in the moment."

I sighed. "Sure, and if we get caught up in the moment, I'm sure I'll be able to think clearly enough to say, _hang on, lemme grab a condom_."

She frowned slightly. "Well, I hope you'll be able to. You're only 16. I won't forbid you not to have sex, because what're the chances you'll listen to me? But if you do decide to become sexually active, I want you to always have protection on hand, and to use it."

I sighed again. "Okay, okay."

"So, do I need to get you condoms?"

"Mom, I think after that talk, you need to grab _me_ condoms. I just became paranoid," Shane told her.

"Me too," I put in.

"Good. Now, do we need to talk about STDs?"

Shane and I glanced at each other, and began shoveling food into our mouths so that we wouldn't be able to talk.

"I'll take that as a 'no'."

After that talk, I expected to be completely traumatized. Somehow, though, I managed to get through my usual nighttime routine without freaking out. It wasn't until I was brushing my teeth that I realized that tomorrow Shane and I had hockey tryouts. I wasn't worried about Shane. He was an amazing hockey player. I'll admit, I'm pretty damn good myself, but Shane has a lot more natural talent than I do. I'll always be able to stay up on the ice better, but he'll always be better at hockey than me.

I was really wishing I had gotten the chance to get out onto the ice to practice, even if it had just been for five minutes.

All I could do was take a deep breath and tell myself that there was nothing I could do about it now.

Eventually, I drifted off to sleep…

…And awoke panting and sweating five minutes before my alarm went up, with a certain part of me hard and aching.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck_fuckFUCK_!

Katie had managed to creep her way into my dreams, and the result was _this_. Why my body had decided to wake me up before I could finish was beyond me, although I guess I should have been grateful that at least I wouldn't have to change my sheets before I left for school.

Mom did the laundry – for some reason, she never made Shane or me do it. She once said it's because it's something she enjoys it. It's brainless and relaxing, but then again, so is washing dishes, and yet she always tries to pass that chore off to one of us – so, as a result, she would know what had happened, and after last night, I didn't need her to try to have any more _talks_ with me.

Gritting my teeth, I turned off my alarm, and staggered out of bed. I pulled on my bathrobe and slipped my feet into my slippers, made sure my bathrobe covered the offending part, and walked stiffly into the bathroom. I got into the shower, and sighed, closing my eyes.

Damn it, Katie.

Forty-five minutes later, I dashed down the stairs for a quick breakfast.

"Is Shane still in the shower?" Mom asked me as I began to make myself instant oatmeal.

From the way the pipes were gurgling, I would guess so.

"Sounds like it."

She eyed me. "You were in the shower for awhile."

"It took me awhile to wake up."

"You were in there five minutes earlier than usual."

"So?"

She just shook her head, and poured herself a second cup of coffee.

My poor mother. It can't be easy, raising two teenage boys all by herself.

By the time Shane came downstairs, I was halfway through my oatmeal.

"You used up most of the hot water," he grumbled to me.

"Sorry. It just took me forever to wake up."

"Turn on the cold water next time," he replied.

"It wouldn't have worked. It would have just made it worse."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

"Did you try it?"

"No."

"Try it next time. It works wonders. I ought to know. I just had to take a cold shower."

"Sorry…"

"Uh huh. Sure."

"I am!"

"I'll be sure to mention that when I tell the hockey team what you and mom talked about last night."

"You were there!"

"In the way I tell it, I'll just be a poor, suffering innocent bystander. Oh, and you'll confess to wanting to bang Katie Knight's brains out."

"Shane!" Mom cried. "Not in front of the mother!"

"Sorry."

"Just eat breakfast," I snarled.

"So, you admit you want to?"

"No! I barely know her, and from every impression I've gotten from her, she's a bi – brat."

"Sure. Whatever you say."

I growled.

A half hour later, we walked into the high school.

I immediately spotted the guys. They waved to Shane and me, and we waved back.

As we headed towards our lockers, we passed the group of tight, cliquey figure skaters, with Katie in the very center. Her pretty brown eyes narrowed as I passed by her, and I couldn't resist raising my eyebrows and shooting a smirk at her.

Her fists clenched, her eyes narrowed even more, and my smirk widened.

What the hell was wrong with me? I didn't like pissing people (except for my dad) off. It wasn't in my nature. And going out of my way to purposefully aggravate someone, especially a pretty girl? What the fuck was my problem? Maybe she did have a good reason to dislike me.

"Dude, you okay?" Shane asked me once we reached his locker. "You look a little…strange."

"What? Oh, yeah, it's nothing. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Yeah, okay…See you in a few hours."

I continued down the hall to my locker, and opened it. Logan joined me a moment later.

"I passed by Shane on my way over here, and it looks like him and the kid I introduced him to yesterday are getting along nicely. Just thought you'd want to know, since he's your brother."

I nodded. "Thanks. That's good to know."

It was so ridiculous. It was like I was one person with my friends and family – a decent person – but when it came to Katie, I was a total jerk. It made no sense whatsoever. I didn't feel inclined to tick off any of the other figure skaters. Just her. But then again, she was the one who had treated me the worst. By comparison, Jo Taylor had been almost welcoming.

"So, ready for hockey tryouts?" Logan asked me, leaning against the locker next to mine.

"Um…I guess…"

"You'll be great."

"I hope so."

"Logan, can you move? I need to get to my locker."

Logan and I both looked around to find Katie standing there, looking even tinier than she had yesterday, due to the fact that she had traded her heels in for sneakers.

I almost blinked. That had sounded almost…polite.

Logan nodded. "Sorry, I forgot this was your locker."

Wait…Something was beginning to click…a thought was beginning to form…

…Katie had the locker next to mine! Shit! How had I not known that?!

"Of course," she said coolly as Logan moved away. "Not a problem."

I ran my tongue over my teeth as I watched her, keeping my face purposefully blank.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Katie snapped at me.

I rolled my eyes as I got what I needed from my locker. I didn't even bother coming up with a comeback. I was going to have to deal with her in three classes, and possibly during lunch. It just wasn't worth beginning an argument. Although…damn, it was tempting. A flashback from my dream hit me…

"_James…" she moaned as I slammed her up against the wall, lips on her neck. "Please…"_

"_Please what?"_

"_You know what…"_

"You okay?"

I was snapped back to reality by Logan, who was looking at me in concern.

"Yeah – yeah – I'm fine. Just…zoned out for a minute there."

"Okay…" he said, frowning a little.

Katie raised her eyebrows at me, but didn't say anything. I stared back at her coolly.

After several long, awkward seconds, Logan cleared his throat. "We should get to homeroom. You should too," he added to Katie.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Mitchell," she snapped, as she slung her messenger bag over her shoulder.

Logan tugged me forward, and I slammed my locker shut.

"See you at lunch," Logan said weakly to Katie.

"Uh huh," was her response.

Logan tugged me forward, and we headed to homeroom. Kendall was, once again, waiting for us.

"Your sister has the locker right next to James's…" Logan said to Kendall a little hesitantly.

"Ah. How nice."

I threw myself into my chair, chewing ferociously on my tongue.

"You okay?" Kendall asked me.

I nodded, trying to shake myself out of my sudden bad mood. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about later…"

"You'll be great," Kendall said firmly. "You and Shane both. You'll both be amazing."

"I hope so."

He nodded, and Logan gave me an encouraging smile as the teacher walked into the room.

Geometry was fairly uneventful. Camille and Jo barely glanced in Kendall's, Dak's, and my direction, although Kendall had to struggle to keep his eyes off of Jo.

Jo finally noticed him looking at her, and mouthed, "What?" at him. He blushed slightly, and dropped his gaze down to his notebook, shaking his head.

I met up with Carlos in PE, and we chatted amiably as we changed. Katie and Stephanie were already in the gym, in their own private corner, whispering to each other. Just like the day before, they eyed us, their eyes narrowed.

"You and Katie really should try to get along," Carlos told me as class started. "You two are chemistry partners. You can't argue during that class – you might lose focus and blow something up." About two seconds later, he was hit in the head with a dodge ball. "Ow!"

I looked around, and saw Stephanie grinning. "Whoops – my bad. I have bad aim."

Sure she did…

Katie snickered, and launched a ball at me over the net. Damn high school volleyball. When were we ever going to need it? Couldn't we at least run some laps?

I got a hold of the ball, sending it flying back at her. She stepped out of the way, letting one of the guys on her team get it for her.

The guy sent it back over the net, and Carlos launched it back at him.

A few minutes later, Katie got her hands on the ball again, and aimed it straight at my head. I managed to dodge it, but missed it by centimeters.

By the end of the class, Katie, Stephanie, Carlos, and I were all in a very bad mood, and ready to kill each other.

"They're just plain mean!" he griped to me as we showered. "I mean, Stephanie and Katie could have given us concussions! We'd never do that to them! Why are they so mean?"

"Because they're bitches?" I suggested as I dried off. "Because they're self-centered?"

"They shouldn't even be attacking you," he complained as we began to get dressed. "You're not on the hockey team yet. I mean, you will be, if everything goes right, but you're not yet. They shouldn't judge. It's just plain rude."

"I know," I said wearily. "I'm guessing they have a lot of power in the school?"

He nodded. "People are kind of scared of them. I mean, it's kind of funny, because they all look like you could snap them like a twig, but they can be mean. Especially Katie."

"Ah. That'd explain it."

"Yeah. When they're ruthless, you don't really care about their size. Katie's the smallest, and some people say she's evil."

"Is she?"

"Nah. She has her bitch moments, but she's not evil. She just isn't always that nice."

"I got that."

He nodded, as we reached the chemistry classroom. Kendall wasn't there yet, and neither was Katie, Stephanie, or Jo.

We headed over to Carlos' and Kendall's table, and Carlos began to set up.

A couple of minutes later, Kendall walked in and joined us. "Stetson's talking shit about the hockey team again," he told Carlos.

"Jett Stetson – the ice skater – hates us even more than Katie does," Carlos explained to me, before turning back to Kendall. "What is he saying now?"

"Just the usual. That we use steroids to improve our performance ability." Kendall looked at me. "This school has a zero tolerance policy for steroids. You get caught with them, you're out. If this gets back to Coach Kramer or one of the teachers, we'll all be hauled in for questioning. It's happened before."

I nodded. "That makes sense, but that really sucks, especially if it's just a stupid rumor."

"It does," Kendall agreed, taking his seat.

I caught a whiff of vanilla and strawberries, and I turned to see Katie and Stephanie walking into the classroom. They both threw us nasty looks, and walked to Stephanie's and Jo's table. Jo joined them a couple of minutes later.

Eventually, Ms. Straumner showed up, and Katie and I both headed to our table. Neither of us said anything.

We took our seats, and Ms. Straumner began the class. She gave us our instructions, with the warning, "And please, class, try not to blow anything up. These tables are expensive."

There was a smattering of laughter, and then we got to work. It was pretty simple, just mixing vinegar with baking soda to see what would happen. Nothing too exciting, since we'd all probably done it at some point in elementary school. But Ms. Straumner told us that it was just to get us used to doing labs and working with the equipment. Apparently she had been prepping everyone for labs, but the class hadn't actually done one yet.

Katie and I barely talked at all through class, except to ask for a piece of equipment, which almost never happened. The silence was icy, and it made me shiver a little bit.

Eventually the bell rang and Katie and I both jumped to our feet. We skidded around each other to get to our friends, glaring at each other the entire time.

The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. I did my best to focus on my schoolwork, and not to think about the hockey tryouts that would be happening in just a couple of hours.

Finally it was time to head to the rink for tryouts. Shane and I laced up our skates, and joined the slowly growing throng of teenage boys who were waiting for their name to be called.

Eventually, it was my turn. I skated onto the ice, hockey stick in hand, and began going through the routine they had set up. I went a round with the team, and then a second round. Finally, the coach blew his whistle. "Okay, Diamond, nice job. The other Diamond, you're up."

I skated off the ice and gave Shane the thumbs up. He grinned at me, and took my place, setting himself up as left defenseman.

I knew at once he was born for that position. He played it with ease, as if all his moves, all his tactics, were a part of his body. It was truly amazing. It hit me in that moment that that was truly where he belonged, out on the ice, defending the puck.

There was movement out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see several ice skaters in the bleachers not too far from where I was. Katie was there, along with Camille Roberts, and one of the guys – Kyle, if I remember correctly. Camille and Kyle both looked at ease, but Katie had her arms crossed, and it looked as if she was chewing on her tongue.

I shook my head in disbelief. What was the point of coming to these tryouts if all you wanted to do was spit on the players?

And why was Camille and Kyle here?

My question was quickly answered when, as Shane got off the ice, Camille waved at Logan. "Hi, Logie! Looking good out there!"

It was hard to tell with his hockey helmet and mask, but I had the distinct feeling that Logan was blushing.

Ah. So Camille had dragged two of her friends along so that she could watch Logan. I guess Stephanie, Jo, and the other guy, Jett, must have been out on the other ice rink, practicing, otherwise they would have been here too.

Shane joined me, panting. "What're they doing here?" he asked me as he spotted the ice skaters.

"I think Camille's here for Logan."

I could see Shane smirk through his hockey mask. "Is that allowed?"

I smirked too. "Somehow, I don't think Camille cares. And I'm betting that Logan doesn't."

Shane snickered. "If the way he's falling all over himself is any indication, he definitely doesn't."

"Not in the least," I agreed.

I glanced over at Katie, and saw that she was glaring over at us. I lifted my helmet off my head so that she knew she had been caught. I mouthed to her, "Something I can do for you?"

She merely scowled and turned away.

I grinned and turned back around to find Shane raising his eyebrows at me. "But you don't like her."

"Why would I?"

"She's pretty."

"She's also a bitch. And there's plenty of girls who are prettier than her. Besides, she wears a ton of makeup," I pointed out. "She probably doesn't look like that when it's all off."

"Probably not," Shane agreed.

"But, I mean, she probably doesn't even need it," I griped. "I'm sure she looks beautiful without makeup. The makeup just makes her look superficial – which she is."

"Uh huh."

"I mean, look at the way she's dressed – wait – "

My eyes widened as I looked back at her. She was in her figure skating dress, and I could tell by her added height that she was also in ice skates.

"She's in red," Shane snickered. "You _love_ red."

"Shut up. Anyway, she doesn't have any business here. This is hockey tryouts."

"Probably the other rink is filled up. Her friends are probably practicing and she got bored, so she decided to come with Camille. That's probably why Kyle – that's his name, right? – is here."

I nodded.

Finally, hockey tryouts ended, and Kendall came and stood in front of the audience. "Well, guys, I know you were expecting Jordan Talbot to be standing here. But, sadly, he was one of the guys who was kicked out, so…I took over for him as hockey captain. As for the tryouts, it was a tough decision. We had some really talented people try out. But we managed to make our decision. For center…we have James Diamond! For left defenseman…we have Shane Diamond!"

I let out a breath of relief, and beside me, Shane beamed.

"We did it," I said to him, feeling slightly breathless. I could barely believe it, even though I had hoped fervently that we would make it onto the team. This meant that we would not only be able to keep our friends, but we would also have the kind of support that you can only get by being on a team.

He nodded, grinning widely. However, his eyes widened as he looked past my shoulder. "Incoming ice skaters at six-o-clock."

I did a three step turnaround in my skates, and saw Katie, Camille, and Kyle coming towards us. I wondered vaguely what the chances were that they were coming over to make peace with us. Judging by the haughty glower on Katie's face, it was slim pickings.

Camille gave Shane and me a quick smile. "Nice job out there. I have no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it looked brutal, and I was kind of scared for both of you, so I guess you two were doing something right."

I chuckled a little. It was the first words she had said to me, but unlike Jo and Katie's so-called welcomings, she sounded friendly and nice and I felt a rush of warmth and fondness for her.

"Thanks," I said. "We were trying."

She laughed, and then nodded over to where Logan was, talking to Carlos. "I'm gonna go see if Logan lets me near his crotch." She winked at us, and headed off, also balancing on ice skates.

Kyle roared with laughter. "She's so…She's…There just isn't words to describe her. Anyway, nice job out there," he said to us. "You guys looked amazing out there." He smiled slightly at me, and then turned to look at Shane.

Shane smiled back at him, and I wasn't sure, but in the florescent lighting, it looked like heat might be rising in his cheeks.

"Thanks," he said. "Um…thanks for saying that. It's nice to have support."

I nodded in agreement, and then looked at Katie.

"Congratulations," she said frostily. "You guys are officially hockey players. That means that you make my life harder. And _that_ means that you guys are going to want to stay the hell out of my way."

And with those words, she shoved past us, heading for the door. She knew how to make a dramatic exit, I'll give her that.

Kyle laughed, sounding a little awkward. "Uh…yeah…sorry about her…She's Katie…Um…I should go. Oh, I'm Kyle, by the way," he added to us.

"Shane."

"James."

"Nice to meet you," he said with a quick nod as he hurried after Katie. "See you guys around!"

Shane looked at me. "Think Katie's going to make trouble for us?"

I nodded. "Oh yeah. You can count on it."

* * *

_**So, what'd you think? I know, I know, it was pretty obvious that James and Shane would make it onto the team, you guys could see that one coming from a mile away. But how was the rest of it? Did you like it? Was it okay? The review button and I want to hear what you guys think! :)**_


	4. Chapter 4: Explosion

**_Chapter Four is up! Whoo Hoo!_  
**

**_Disclaimer: I'll keep it short and sweet: No, I do not own Big Time Rush. End of story._**

**_Guest: Thank you so much! And I'll try to get to "Touch the Flame" very soon :) As for that other thing about a James and Katie hooking up...we'll see...;)_**

**_Misslittlemaslow: Thank you so very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! As for what Katie's going to do...Just wait and see...;)_**

**_BTRFan8123: Well, thank you very much! You're so sweet! Is Shane gay? Good question ;P I plan on updating the "DLS-S Cruise" very soon :)_**

**_As always, THANK YOU for reviewing, favoriting, and following this story! I love all of you so much!_**

**_Enjoy the chapter :)_**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Explosion**

**James' POV (Cont.)**

A half an hour later, Shane and I headed out towards my car. Our friends had congratulated us on making the team, we had gotten measured and given our sizes to Logan, who was going to go pick up our uniforms at a specialized store down at the La Castillo mall that evening, and now we were celebrating, acting like a couple of three year olds as we ran, leapt, and laughed all the way to my car.

We reached my car, breathless, panting hard.

"Oh my gosh," Shane breathed out, doubled over. "We are way too happy about this."

"I know," I agreed, laughing as I clutched at the driver's door handle. "It's like we're two girls who got tickets to a Justin Bieber concert."

"Agreed."

"But now we know we won't be alone. And you can continue doing what you love. We both can."

Shane nodded in agreement. "You can stay out on the ice, and I can keep playing hockey."

"Exactly." I unlocked the doors and we climbed in, buckling ourselves up. I started the car and turned on the radio. A MuteMath song came on and I spun the volume dial up, singing along.

Shane rested his elbow on the window ledge, head in his hand, lost in his own thoughts.

I grinned. "Thinking about a certain _someone_?" The certain someone who had made Shane blush just by complimenting him.

"What? Oh, no, I wasn't." He blushed a little when he realized who I was referring to.

"But you are now."

"Shut up."

I laughed, stopping at an intersection, before proceeding. "So seriously, what were you thinking about?"

"You, actually. And figure skating."

"Ah."

"Do you miss it?"

I nodded. "All the time. But I get to practice sometimes. It's not…it doesn't make my life, the way hockey does for you."

"I know. But you still would have preferred it over hockey. It was your passion."

I shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe I would have changed my mind in a couple of years."

"Dad shouldn't have made you give it up."

"We both know why he did."

"He made you drop out of choir, dance lessons, and drama too, James. And those were the things you really loved too. You loved them just as much as ice skating."

"I know."

"Dad was worried you might turn out…I don't know…He was worried you might end up being…What's the right word?"

"Metro sexual?"

"No, that's not it." He sighed. "I guess he was worried you might turn out all feminine or whatever. I think he was worried about it from the time you were four or five, after you grew out of the chubby toddler phase, when you started looking like a child elf from the _Lord of the Rings_ or _Eragon_."

I busted out laughing. "A child elf? Really?"

"Yes. Tall, slim, handsome, but kind of feminine. That's how I heard one of Mom's friends describing you. I think Mom must have mentioned it to Dad, because from that day on, he was all about you needing to turn _rugged_ and _masculine_. It's ironic, isn't it?"

I looked at him. "What is?"

"That you're the one who's into acting and singing and dancing and figure skating and I'm the one who loves hockey and football and basketball and any other sport I can get my hands on. That you were the one Dad was afraid would be an elf, and yet, I'm the one who's gay."

"It's not ironic. It's the way things go sometimes. And being gay doesn't make you any less masculine. There's a ton of male actors and athletes who can verify that. And look at me. Look what I'm into. I'm obsessed with my hair most of the time, I freak out every time I get a slight blemish on my face, and I love fashion. And I'm straight. You're the complete opposite. There's no type for this kind of thing, Shane. I know that's what Dad taught us, but he's wrong. People generally don't fall into stereotypical categories. They just don't. We're too unique, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "I wonder what Dad would think if he knew the truth about me."

"He would fall into a coma and never speak again."

Shane laughed a little. "Yeah, probably, considering it's him. He would probably have a heart attack from the shock."

"Right."

I pulled into the driveway. "Trust me, Shane, whatever we are, that's the way we were created. So, don't worry about whatever it is you're worrying about. You're my brother and I love you."

He smiled slightly at me. "Love you too."

"Come on, let's go see if Mom decides we need to have any more sex talks."

"Ehhhhh…"

Wednesday was fairly quiet, as was Thursday. Nothing truly interesting happened until Friday's PE class. I hadn't had a run-in with Katie (not counting our classes together), and the other figure skaters stayed away from us hockey players. _Us hockey players_…As lame and goopy as this might sound, it was nice to be able to include Shane and myself in a group. It had been ages since we'd really had any friends.

I met up with Carlos in the boys' locker room and we chatted about hockey and the game that we'd be playing in two weeks. It was the first hockey game of the season, against a nearby town's high school team.

"We almost beat them last year," Carlos said to me regretfully as we walked out into the gymnasium. "We were so close."

"What happened?"

"Well…Kendall and I wanted to get the hockey season started off right…"

"What happened?"I repeated.

"We…um…might have mooned the other team…"

I busted out laughing. "I bet the other team was shocked."

"Uh huh. A couple of them swore that they were blinded for, like, five minutes. I mean, are our butts that hideous?"

I just shook my head, still laughing.

We had moved on from volleyball to dodgeball. We were split into two teams, with Katie and Stephanie on the opposite team. Figures.

Both teams were set up with a ton of balls and when the PE teacher blew the whistle, we began hurtling them at each other.

The guys pretty much went for the other guys, and the girls more or less went for the other girls, I guess to make sure that none of the guys went after them.

Eventually, both teams had lost a significant amount of players, enough to make a huge difference in the dynamics of the game. But Carlos' and my team had lost more. Katie and Stephanie's team had a ton of football players and basketball players, so they had far better aim then we did.

All around me, guys and girls were hit with balls aimed from said football and basketball players, and from Katie and Stephanie. And Stephanie had said she had bad three days ago…

I narrowed my eyes. I had barely had to dodge any balls, and from the look on Carlos' face, he hadn't either. I looked at Katie and Stephanie and saw an identical maniacal gleam in their eyes. They were planning something…

I communicated this to Carlos, just as our very last team members were hit. He nodded.

Katie walked over to Mr. Langly and said something to him. He nodded and she ran off the girls' locker room. Okay, then. Bathroom break.

She returned a few minutes later, a satisfied look on her face. Somehow, I didn't like that look. It made my stomach clench with anxiety.

Just as she was resuming her place with her teammates, the intercom came on: "There is an urgent call for Mr. Langly. Mr. Langly, will you please pick up your phone in your office?"

Mr. Langly nodded at us. "Carry on," and he hurried out of the gym.

Katie and Stephanie grinned as they and the rest of their team walked to the white line that was their boundary.

"GET THEM!" Katie screamed, and suddenly Carlos and I were pelted with hard, rubber volleyballs.

When Mr. Langly returned, saying that the call had been a wrong number, Carlos and I were sitting against the wall with the rest of our team, bruised and sore. He nodded at us, saying that we should get some ice and suggesting to the other team that maybe they should have taken it a little easier on us. No shit.

Ten minutes later, Carlos and I were sitting in the nurse's office, ice packs all over our bodies.

"They did it on purpose," I said through gritted teeth. "It was a set up."

"I know," Carlos agreed, looking just as pissed as I felt. "I guess that's why Katie left – to make the call or something. Or she had someone else do it. Probably Stetson. He'd love to be involved in a scheme like this."

I nodded. "That _bitch_!"

"I know," he said again, sounding a little more miserable. "How can she hate us so much? She's never been like this before. She's never been this bad."

"She hates me," I told him. "She's hated me from the second she was paired up with me in chem."

"Speaking of which, we're late."

We ditched the ice and got late passes from the nurse, heading to chemistry.

"Oh no," I groaned as we approached the classroom. "I have to partner with Katie. I can't believe I forgot about that."

Carlos made a sympathetic face. "Good luck."

"Thanks…"

We walked into the classroom and handed our late passes to Ms. Straumner and took our seats.

"Kendall, Katie, be sure to fill Carlos and James in on what we're doing today," she said to them. They both nodded, and I saw Kendall mouth "What happened?" to Carlos.

I turned to Katie after I snapped my safety glasses on, mouth set in a straight line. "Let's just get this over with. What're we doing today?"

"You know, I never realized how much a ball can bruise," Katie said thoughtfully, poking at one of the bruises on my arm.

"Hey!"

"Does that hurt?"

"Yes!"

"Good." She did it again.

I jerked my thumb away from her. "Can we just get on with the lesson?"

"You're lucky Ms. Straumner has a late policy – she won't make you partner with someone else unless your partner is more than fifteen minutes late. Otherwise, thanks to you and Carlos, I would have been stuck with Kendork."

"Your brother's a really nice guy."

"I don't really care." She moved to a small bruise on my collarbone. How I had managed to get a bruise there was beyond me.

"Stop that."

"No." She poked at it.

"Yes."

"No."

"We're supposed to be doing chemistry."

"Read the book. It explains everything you need to know."

Figuring that was the best explanation I would get from Katie, I grabbed the book, and began going through today's lesson plan.

In the meantime, Katie had rolled up one of the sleeves of my t-shirt. "Ooh, you're ripped."

"You hit me with a ball in the bicep."

"Yep." She grinned, poking the bruises on my bicep.

I ignored her, starting on the experiment.

She jabbed at the bruise a little.

"You're really annoying."

"I prefer bitchy."

"You're that too."

She smirked, jabbing her nail into my skin. My arm jerked slightly.

I glared at her and her smirk widened. Her eyes flickered up to somewhere to my right. I glanced in that direction, and saw Kendall, Carlos, and Stephanie and Jo giving Katie and me looks that plainly said _What the hell_?!

I threw a look back at Kendall and Carlos, trying to say, _What? You think I'm __**enjoying**__ being poked and prodded and jabbed like some new insect species_?

They shrugged at me in response. I shook my head at them, mouthing "Hell no".

I turned back to the experiment, checking the measurements for the next part of the experiment. Katie finally stopped jabbing at my skin. I relaxed a little, adding the next liquid to the experiment.

"Hmmm…" Katie lifted my arm up, examining it.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, staring at her. What was with her and my arm?!

"You must work out a lot."

"Um…yeah…I guess…"

"I can tell." She squeezed my bicep and I bit back a startled gasp. What the hell?!

She did it again. "Nice and hard and big."

I bit my lip. Was she _flirting_ with me?

I almost snorted at that thought. The girl had launched an attack of volleyballs at Carlos and me a half hour earlier and had gotten on me for being late because of it. No. This was just another one of her games.

Katie squeezed my bicep again, before moving to my shoulder, which was still t-shirt clad.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed at her, not missing the way she ran her hands over my shoulder and down my chest.

"Estimating the amount of damage the balls did to you."

"Not enough to keep me from playing hockey, if that's what you were hoping."

"I figured. You're a hockey player. You're used to being attacked."

"Can I have my body back please?"

"I'm not finished."

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm really not." She moved her hands over my chest. "Ooh…" She made a noise of appreciation, before flicking her thumb over one of my nipples.

And here I was, just sitting here, taking it. I could have been doing something constructive, like getting on the phone with my lawyer and seeing if I could sue Katie for sexual harassment.

The only problem was…I think I kind of liked it…

But seriously, where was Ms. Straumner when you needed her?

I looked around and saw that she was helping Kendall and Carlos, who's flask appeared to be smoking. Her back was to us, so she couldn't see the way Katie was trying to feel me up. And was everyone else in the room completely oblivious to this?

Apparently so.

Seriously. I bet if I started doing this to her, she'd scream "Rape!" Granted, I'd be groping her chest…Okay, maybe she would have a good reason to scream "Rape!"

But still, I couldn't let her get away with this. She hated me. I hated her. She had just launched a whole bunch of volleyballs at Carlos and me. Hate doesn't get much more defined than that. Those things _hurt_.

She slid her hands down to my abs. Okay, fine. I'd let her have this one last area of groping, but any lower and I was going to take action. I'd get a hall pass from Ms. Straumner and hustle to the boys' bathroom like nobody's business.

Finally, she pulled her hands away.

"Are you done assessing the damage?" I asked, trying to sound annoyed.

"Not quite."

"You need to add the next part."

"You do that."

"I just did the first part. You do the second part."

"I will, in a moment." She slipped her hands under my t-shirt, placing them on my abs. Her fingers were warm against my bare skin, but my body still shuddered slightly.

Her fingers brushed lightly over one of the bruises on my stomach and I winced.

"There?"

I wordlessly nodded.

She passed her fingers over it again. "Poor baby." She smirked.

"Please just add the next chemical," I pleaded.

"Why? Are you getting turned on?" her smirk widened.

"No. But I was hoping to pass the class."

"You are, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes."

I avoided her eyes. "I'm not."

"You so are."

"You don't know what you're talking about." I made sure to wedge my lap under the table.

She laughed quietly. "You really think that's going to hide it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said haughtily. "Add the next ingredient."

She grinned and did so. She turned the Bunsen burner on. "And now we wait."

"Now we wait."

"You know what you'd be really good at?"

I eyed her hesitantly. "What?"

"A strip tease. Seriously, you'd be an awesome male stripper. You have the perfect body for it."

I smirked a little. "Why don't you just admit that you like my body?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I don't."

"And yet, that's why you keep touching me. And don't use that line about figuring out what damage you did. You can't see bruises through cotton."

Her face began to turn red and her eyes darkened in anger behind her safety glasses. "You're an ass. You're obviously one of those guys who think that girls would love to sleep with him just because he looks good."

"I don't think that," I snapped back. "You're the one who couldn't keep your hands off my body!"

"Bruises, idiot, bruises!"

"Even if that is the case, it still makes you a mega bitch. You don't care, do you? You don't care what you do to people. You just go out of your way to hurt people."

"You can't just waltz into this school and act like you belong here! You don't! You're nothing but a hick outsider. And don't think that joining the hockey team will protect you. Stephanie and I proved today that it won't. It's like I said yesterday, Diamond – you need to stay the hell out of my way. Well, since you obviously can't do that – "

"We're partnered together! We're in four periods together!"

" – I'm going to make your life a living hell."

"Bring it!" I snarled. "Show me what you got!"

"Go to hell, Diamond!"

"Save me a seat, Knight."

"I – " Before she could say anything else, there was a sudden explosion as our concoction erupted in the flask, sending glass shards everywhere. Katie and I both leapt to our feet, instinctively turning our heads away from the flying glass.

Everyone in the class got to their feet too so that they could see who had blown up their science experiment.

And there Katie and I stood, fists clenched, covered with little bits of glass and dripping with a mixture of burnt liquids, glaring ferociously at each other.

Ms. Straumner quietly walked over to us. She took a deep breath and looked at us. "Detention. Go get cleaned up."

Detention at Castillo High is generally held either during study hall or after school, depending on whether or not you belong to an after-school club or team. Since Katie and I both technically did, our detention was during study hall.

To say that I was not looking forward to it was the understatement of the century.

After I managed to get the different household substances (because Ms. Straumner was smart enough not to let a whole bunch of high school students handle dangerous chemicals) and the glass out of my hair and clothes, I headed to the cafeteria.

I grabbed a couple slices of pizza and joined my friends and brother.

"So…the tension between you and Katie got so hot that your experiment exploded?" Shane smirked at me, stuffing a couple of fries into his mouth.

I glared at him. "No! We were fighting and weren't paying attention to the experiment."

"What was going on before it exploded?" Carlos asked me. "I mean, it kind of looked like she had her hands all over you…"

Shane's eyes lit up and his smirk widened. "Oh, do tell, big brother. Let's hear the whole story, sordid details included."

The supportive, innocent little brother he was not.

I glanced at Kendall, not sure if he would want to hear this, but he looked just as interested as Shane, Carlos, and Logan did. I quietly filled them in on what had happened.

When I had finished, there was complete silence as everyone took in the information.

"Wow…" Carlos said.

"I'll say," Kendall agreed. "I knew my sister was a game player, but that's taking it to a whole new level…"

Shane and Logan both nodded. "That's some seriously mixed signals," Logan stated. "I mean, from what she was saying it sounded like she was trying to make herself believe that she was just trying to sniff out your bruises, but from what she was doing…I mean…" he glanced a little hesitantly at Kendall. "It was kind of…sexual…"

"I know," I said, taking a bite of pizza. "I don't know what was going on."

"Well, it's simple," Carlos piped up. "She hates your guts, but she wants your dick."

We all choked on our food at his statement.

Carlos took a bite of his corndog. "What?" he said, blinking innocently at us. "It's true. She does. It's so obvious. It sounds to me like she was having a hard enough time keeping her hands off of you. I bet she was really struggling to keep from mounting you right then and there."

We all choked again.

"Man, you guys are all so innocent." He finished off his corndog. "I need sugar. I'm gonna go get a rainbow pop." He got to his feet and skipped off.

We all exchanged incredulous looks.

"_That's_ the guy who just said that Katie wants James'…um...?" Logan blushed bright red.

"Yeah, that's the guy who said it," Kendall nodded. "Wow…Gotta love Carlos…"

Shane grinned at me. "You better hope Mom doesn't find out about this, otherwise she'll definitely enforce The Talk on you."

"Wait, what?" Logan and Kendall both turned to Shane.

Smirking widely, he filled them in on the conversation with Mom at dinner a couple of nights before. By the time he had finished, Carlos had rejoined us, sucking happily on his popsicle.

"Awk-ward!" he chimed.

"I know," I agreed. "It was awful. I never want to have to go through that again. So don't you _dare_ tell her," I added warningly to Shane.

He grinned. "Now, do you really think I would? Really?"

"Yes, I really do."

He snickered.

Eventually it was time to head to the detention classroom. The guys walked with me to the room. I nodded at them and opened the door, slipping into the classroom.

Katie was already there, sitting at a desk at the front of the classroom, arms crossed, a furious expression on her face.

"Ah, good, Mr. Diamond," Ms. Straumner said to me. I looked at her in surprise.

"You're the overseer – I mean, detention teacher?"

"Yes, James, I'm the detention teacher."

"Oh."

"You can take a seat next to Katie."

"Do I have to?"

"Do you want to go to hockey practice this afternoon?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Then take a seat."

I reluctantly slumped down in the seat next to Katie. She didn't even look at me. That was just fine with me.

I pulled out my homework to get started on it, while thinking that if Ms. Straumner had been paying more attention, if she had noticed what Katie was doing, or that we were arguing, then our experiment wouldn't have blown up.

There was only a couple other kids in the classroom, and Ms. Straumner pretty much kept to her desk.

No one even tried to talk, and Katie didn't try to check for more bruises or whatever the hell she'd been doing during chemistry earlier. I was half relieved and half disappointed. I didn't mind being relieved, but I really hated that I was disappointed, like I actually wanted her hands on me again. Because I didn't. I definitely didn't. Not really. Well, maybe kind of…A little bit…A little bit a lot…

The bell rang, signaling the end of that period, and we all got to our feet. Katie and I both made a dash for the door, determined to get to the door first. Because she was smaller and better at dodging furniture, she got to the door first. She slid through it, and I followed, before realizing that that meant that we had to walk to English class together.

"I'm glad you're covered in bruises," Katie stated bluntly as we walked outside, heading for the Arts and Humanities building.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm glad you're covered in bruises. At my doing, I mean. That I'm responsible."

It was such a weird statement that I turned to stare at her.

"So I wasn't admiring your body or touching you because I _wanted_ to. I was admiring my handiwork."

She wasn't fooling me. Her voice was a little too loud, a little too blank, a little to void of emotion, to agree with her words. But since I was still telling myself that I really hated her touching me, I figured it wasn't worth trying to press on the subject. There was a certain feeling lurking at the back of my mind that told me that if we pushed on this, we'd end up in quite the compromising position.

I just wasn't sure what kind of compromising position it would be.

"Whatever. I wouldn't actually think that you'd want to touch me. Even if you seemed to be enjoying yourself."

"I wasn't."

"Sure you weren't."

Okay, maybe being sarcastic was pressing on the subject a tiny bit. But I had every right to be sarcastic. She had practically molested me in chem. lab!

We reached the English classroom and sat down at our respective seats. Mrs. Wattburgon started the class a couple minutes later. However, five minutes into our lecture, the classroom door opened, and a tall woman with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing a track suit, walked in.

"I'm Katie's coach, Sarah," she introduced herself. "I need to borrow Katie for the rest of the class to go over some training techniques. I hope you don't mind."

Mrs. Wattburgon frowned. "Actually, I do. I was planning on going over some points that will be covered in this weekend's homework. I think Katie would benefit from sitting through the rest of today's class."

"No. She needs to train. She missed our after lunch training session because she was in detention." Sarah looked directly at me, as if it was all my fault Katie and I had blown up our chemistry experiment. Couldn't anyone just say _Hey, at least you didn't blow up the classroom_?

Mrs. Wattburgon's frowned intensified. "She needs to stay in class."

"She needs to train. She can catch up later. She can ask a fellow student for help. She's coming with me. Katie, pack up."

I looked across the room at her. She hesitated, before getting up and slipping her notebook and pen into her messenger bag. She walked over to the door, and threw a hesitant glance over her shoulder at me. She didn't have the expression of someone who was happy to be getting out of class; instead, she looked absolutely miserable, and a little scared.

I stared back at her, as if trying to mentally give her some words of encouragement, although why I would do that I had no idea. I guess it was because she suddenly looked so tiny and vulnerable and terrified that it was hard to remember that this was the girl who had sic-ed a whole bunch of football and basketball players on Carlos and me, and who had tried to have a personal relationship with my body.

By the time she reached the door, her shoulders were squared and her head was raised high. She followed Sarah out the classroom door and it swung shut behind them.

* * *

_**Wow...Any thoughts on Katie's coach? That's definitely gotta take some nerve, pulling a student out in the middle of a class, the same day she had detention.**_

_**I'll admit, James and Katie's scene in the chem lab ALMOST went very different then it actually did. Darn story plot lines anyway.**_

_**So...can the review button and I ask you to let me know what you thought? *Bats eyes hopefully*. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

_**Oh, and one more thing, since I haven't done this lately: I'm on Twitter so that I can keep people updated about my fics - ScienceFantasy1, so, if you don't want to PM me, just look me up :)**_


	5. Chapter 5: The Proposition

**_Chapter five is up! I know, I know, no kidding, Sherlock ;)_  
**

**_Disclaimer: I, Science-Fantasy93, hereby proclaim that I, in no way whatsoever, own Big Time Rush. That good enough for you, Lawyers?_**

**_Guest: Yes, wasn't it? ;)_**

**_Guest(#2): _****_Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!_**

**__****_JatieLuvr101: Awww, thank you so much! You're so sweet!_**

**__****_Misslittlemaslow: Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!_**

**__****_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited, or read this story! I love you guys!_**

**__****_Enjoy the chapter :)_**

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Proposition**

**James' POV (Cont.)**

"Do you know your sister's coach?" I asked Kendall after hockey practice that day.

"Who? Sarah?"

I nodded. "She came into English today to pull Katie out, so that she could train."

"She did?" Kendall frowned. "That woman's a wannabe Nazi. But my parents practically worship her, because she gets Katie through competitions."

"You don't like her?"

Kendall snorted. "Are you kidding me? I'm pretty sure Sarah turned Katie into what she is now. She pushes her and pushes her and bullies her and pushes her some more. Last year, she made Katie starve herself."

I inhaled sharply. "What happened?"

"She collapsed."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

I left the locker rooms with Shane, and we headed out to the parking lot, climbing into the car.

"So, we made it through our first week of school here," Shane said in satisfaction as I started up the car.

I nodded in agreement. "We actually did. It kind of feels like a miracle, doesn't it?"

"It does. It definitely does."

Kendall, Logan, and Carlos had invited Shane and me to go to the movies and out to dinner with them on Saturday evening.

We went to see a new action movie, and then headed to a small Mexican restaurant after. As we dug into enchiladas and tacos and burritos, Kendall said,

"It's so nice to get out of my dad's house."

"Why?" Shane asked. "What's your dad like?"

"He's cool, but he's spent too much time with Katie."

"What do you mean?" I said curiously.

"He just doesn't really know how to…I don't know." He sighed. "I don't think he and Katie really talk all that much. He doesn't really talk to me, and whenever I ask him a question about Katie, he just brushes it off. It drives me nuts."

I nodded in understanding. "Does he at least care?"

"I think he does. He's not a jerk or anything. He just doesn't know how to be a father. But he tries, at least. Well, for the most part. He's always come to my hockey games, and he goes to Katie's skating competitions."

"That's good, at least."

He nodded. "It'd just be nice if he could figure out how to be more involved in our lives, you know? I mean, I know pretty much every other teenager out there wants their parents out of their lives, but…I don't know. He's my dad. I want him to know me."

"No, that makes sense," I said quietly, thinking of my own dad. The father who left my mom when I was twelve, who made me quit ice skating and drama and choir, because he perceived them as too _feminine_. The father who hated me because of my interests. I could never figure that out. He was a maze of intricate tunnels that never seemed to lead anywhere, and every time you thought you'd finally come to the end of one, you discovered you had made a wrong turn way back a few miles.

Kendall nodded in response to what I had just said, and turned back to his burrito. I poked at my shrimp enchilada, wondering if there were any wrong turns I had made that had led my father to treat me like an outcast.

Eventually, we finished our food and paid for dinner, before heading out to Logan's car. We climbed in and he drove us all back to our houses.

Shane and I walked into the house, not saying a word. I vaguely wondered if he was thinking about our dad too, but I didn't ask him. Instead, I just headed up to my room and threw myself onto my bed.

I reached for my iPod, in the mood to make a new playlist. I couldn't think of what songs to put, and I couldn't figure out my mood, so I ended up just setting it aside, and settling in for the night.

The weekend passed by quickly. Shane and I spent Saturday at Carlos' house with Kendall and Logan, playing video games, and on Sunday, they gave us a tour of La Castillo.

Monday morning arrived much too soon.

I hadn't been sleeping well, plagued by dreams of what could have happened in Chem. if Katie's and my experiment hadn't blown up. It was very hard to deny my attraction to her when I kept dreaming about fucking her on our desk.

My mom gave me a smug look every morning when I wordlessly brought her my sheets. On Sunday afternoon, she slapped a book on my bed, titled: _Being a Teenage Boy: Understanding Your Thoughts and Hormones. _Talk about embarrassing.

Needless to say, on Monday morning, I pretty much dragged Shane out of the house before Mom could ask me if I had read the book, or how I had slept, or anything else with the potential to embarrass me.

"Dude, you're going crazy," Shane said to me as I parked the car in front of the school. "You seriously need to relieve this sexual frustration."

What did he think I'd been doing every night?!

"I am," I said miserably. "But it isn't working. I don't get it. It's only been a week! How could she have this kind of effect on me? I don't even like her!"

"But your body does."

"It makes no sense."

"Do these things ever make sense?"

"Stop sounding so wise. You're too young for that crap."

"Aye, aye, Commander."

"Shut up."

He grinned as we got out of the car and headed towards the school. We passed Katie and her figure skating friends in the hall. We got a sneer from Katie, Stephanie, Jo, and Jett, but friendly smiles and waves from Camille and Kyle.

Shane blushed a little when Kyle smiled and waved at him, and I just barely managed to hide my smirk. It was nice to see Shane like this. He'd never ever really gotten the chance to really explore his sexuality. I mean, he's only fifteen, but he'd once told me that he had known he was gay since he was around eleven, when all the other boys were noticing girls, and he was enraptured by the boys. So he'd had a while to come to terms with it, and he'd always been fine with it. It's just, some people weren't.

What can I say? Kids are cruel.

I flipped the snotty figure skaters off and smiled at the nice ones, and then Kyle and I headed for our lockers.

Homeroom and geometry went by quickly. I admit, I was a little nervous about PE, considering that during the last class Carlos and I had had to go to the nurse's office. And yeah, okay, I was almost _excited_ for Chemistry. Not that I wanted Katie's hands on me. Not in the least. Just…I wouldn't object to it.

However, when Carlos and I stepped out into the gymnasium, Stephanie was the only figure skater in sight. She was chatting with a couple of the football players, but I could tell by the way she was standing that she was tense.

"I wonder where Katie is," I mumbled to Carlos.

"Bathroom? Maybe she's on her you-know-what?"

"Her what?"

"You know…her TOTM?"

"What?"

"Her period!"

"Oh! You could've just said it."

"I'm shy."

I chuckled and shook my head, just as Mr. Langly walked in. There was no Katie in sight.

She didn't show up for the rest of PE, and when I walked into Chemistry, our table was empty. Stephanie and Jo were talking at their table, both looking a little worried.

"Mr. Diamond," Ms. Straumner said to me when she saw me, "Miss Knight has been temporarily pulled from her classes by her figure skating coach. You will be working with Mr. Knight and Mr. Garcia now."

I frowned a little. I knew I should have been happy for the reprieve from Katie, but I wasn't. As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of liked our fighting. Not the part where she launched balls at my head, but the part where we bickered and argued and got on each other's nerves and pushed each other's buttons. I liked that part. No, scratch that. I didn't just like it. I _thrived_ on it.

But I wasn't going to admit it. Not here in Chemistry class. Not here, not now, not ever.

So I gave her a cheerful smile, said, "Okay, thanks," and sat down with Kendall and Carlos.

"Sarah pulled Katie from her classes?" Carlos whispered to Kendall as we began our lab. "Can she do that?"

"She had to get my parents' permission. She called them down to the office on Friday afternoon."

"You didn't say anything about it though."

"I didn't think my mom would go through with it. She and my dad were arguing about it all weekend." He sighed. "She finally gave in."

"So…Katie's not going to be going to any more classes?"

"Not until Sarah deems her where she needs to be in her skating."

"But this is _school_. I mean, if she was home schooled I could see how it would work. But we have a curriculum," I frowned. "A set curriculum with set due dates and set tests. How is that going to work?"

"As long as Katie turns in the homework with a B average and passes all the tests, she'll be okay."

"Ah."

Kendall grimaced. "I love my sister, but she's not a straight-A student. She's smart, she's very smart, but she has difficulty in some subjects. I think it's mainly because she didn't have time to learn them. I mean, she struggles in both math _and_ English. Most people are good at one, or the other. Or halfway decent at one, you know?"

"Well, some people just can't get school," I pointed out. "It's not for them, but they do really well at other stuff."

"I guess…" he sighed. "I just don't like that Sarah's taking her education away from her, too."

"Oh, no, you're starting to sound like Logan," Carlos groaned. "I've never figured out why we have to learn all these different subjects. I mean, a simple knowledge of all the subjects I can understand, but when are we ever going to use allegories and symbols or whatever?"

I inadvertently glanced over at Katie's and my table, where the explosion had occurred. I could see the scorch marks from the boiling liquid on the table. The explosion had kind of felt like a symbol, in a way – a symbol of our whatever-the-hell-this-was blowing up in our faces.

After Chem. we headed to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Katie's here!" Carlos cried, and we all turned to look over at the figure skater's table.

Sure enough, Katie was sitting there, eating a yogurt and a salad, looking a little tired and, in all honesty, a little limp, like a wilted piece of lettuce in her salad.

But I was still disgustingly happy to see her. And I was craving a good argument with her. A good Kat fight.

I chuckled to myself at the pun. I was so lame, but I couldn't even come up with the self-will to change the first letter of _Kat_ in my mind.

We got our food and headed over to our table. As I took my seat, I glanced quickly over at the figure skater's table. I saw Katie looking over at us, and for a split, heart-stopping, breathtaking second, our eyes locked.

And then Jett said something to her, and she looked away, focusing her attention on him.

Whatever. I was only attracted to her. It wasn't like I had a crush on her. I didn't want to go out with her or anything. I was just lusting after her, and I was sure that wouldn't last for very long. These things never did, right?

Katie didn't show up in any of our classes until Thursday, when we had a chapter test in English. I was very happy to see her. I was getting tired of having My Darkest Days' song _Can't Forget You_ stuck in my head. For some reason, that song popped up in my mind whenever I thought of her. Well, that one and Eve 6's _Situation Infatuation_…But that was it. Sort of.

"Diamond," she snipped as she passed by me, her skirt brushing against my desk.

"Knight," I shot back.

She sneered at me, and I curled my lip back at her.

It was a simple exchange, but suddenly I was breathing easier than I had in days. This was fantastic! I felt…_alive_! It was like a mini adrenaline rush, enough to get me pumped. It was like getting into a cool shower on a boiling hot summer day. Refreshing. Amazing. Invigorating.

Mrs. Wattburgon passed out our tests, set the timer on her desk, and said, "Begin."

The test was very easy, just asking questions about the stories we had read in the chapter, and about the symbols in the stories. I was one of the first to finish the test, and I grinned as I handed her the test and packed up my backpack. I glanced over at Katie. I wasn't sure, but it looked like she wasn't very far along on the test. She was gripping her pencil tightly and her tongue was poking out, her back hunched, a stressed look on her face.

I walked out of the classroom, trying not to think of her, or how much it had looked like she was struggling on the test.

Katie didn't appear in any of my morning classes on Friday, but she was in the English classroom when I arrived, talking to Mrs. Wattburgon, looking a little panicky.

"You don't understand! I need at least a 3.0 GPA! If I don't get it, I'm not allowed to ice skate, because it's an extracurricular activity, as well as a sport! I need a passing grade on the test!"

Mrs. Wattburgon nodded at me as I passed by them and took my seat. "I'm sorry, Katie, I really, truly am, but the test doesn't lie."

"Well, what about extra credit?"

"Any extra credit assignments I give you will be pointless, because they will be on material we will be covering in the upcoming chapters, and I can't be sure that you'll understand the topics."

Katie slumped. "But – but – "

"Will you be joining us in class today?"

She nodded, looking like all the fight in her had drained out. "Yeah…"

"Good. Take your seat. We will discuss extra credit assignments after class. Maybe we can work something out." Mrs. Wattburgon gave Katie a small smile, before shuffling a stack of papers on her desk.

Katie sat down at her desk, folding her arms on the surface, and resting her head on them. She looked exhausted, like she could fall asleep at any second.

A few minutes later, class began, and Mrs. Wattburgon got to her feet to start passing out the tests. "I was quite pleased with your tests, for the most part," she said as she handed them out. "You did much better than I expected."

I saw Katie raise her head just long enough to shoot Mrs. Wattburgon a nasty look. Yep, Mrs. Wattburgon had made it onto her shit list. And apparently she was higher up on it then I was, since Katie hadn't even acknowledged my presence.

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this.

Mrs. Wattburgon placed my test paper on my desk, face down, and I hesitantly picked it up. I mentally cheered – I'd gotten one-hundred percent on it, plus an extra credit point, because I'd answered a question two different ways.

Success!

We had had extra long hockey practices all week, since we had our first game next Friday, and the tension was building. We were all desperate to win this game, and the desperation was increasing by the second.

The weekend passed by too quickly, much like it had the week before, and on Monday morning we were back at school.

The fact that on Friday the hockey team had a game did not escape unnoticed. People began whispering about the hockey players, and suddenly we were all getting attention. Girls were flirting with us, and guys were telling us to kick the other team's ass.

The figure skaters muttered to each other about us, and occasionally threw out an insult. Katie was back in all of our classes together, and upon arriving to Chemistry, she wasted no time in informing me that the hockey team was crap and was never going to win. I decided I hadn't missed her that much.

The entire hockey team ate lunch together on Monday. Usually, Dak hung out with a couple of other friends, but he chose to sit with us. Kendall spent the entire lunch period telling us about the other team in as much detail as he could, considering he knew next to nothing about them, just that they were good.

However, once lunch ended, we didn't get a chance to discuss it further – for the first time, we were all doing different things for Study Hall. Carlos and Kendall both had detention for straying from an experiment in Chemistry, which they said was merely out of curiosity – they hadn't meant to blow up their test tube.

Logan had an extra credit assignment for his advanced biology class, so he headed to the Computer Lab to do research for it. Dak had his friends outside the hockey team to hang out with, so that left me at a table all alone, my iPod blasting in my ears.

I got through my geometry homework without too much pain. It was all pretty much reading, and a couple of practice problems, which was a nice change from the rows of problems the class had been getting assigned lately. I was just about to begin on Chem. when my right earbud was suddenly ripped out of my ear.

I yelped in surprise and looked up to confront the earbud stealer, fumbling to pause my iPod.

Katie stood in front of my, holding the missing earbud, the cord trailing to just below my neck and around to my left ear.

I blinked at her and plucked the other earbud out of my ear. "Can I do something for you, or is this a new hobby? Interrupting people's study time and music."

"Oh, hah, hah, very funny." She sat down across the table from me.

I blinked at her. The only time she had gotten this close to me in the last week was when we were forced to sit together in Chem. lab. "What do you want?"

"You."

"Ex – excuse me?"

"Oh, relax, I don't mean it like that. I need your help. Your brains. Mrs. Wattburgon's love for you."

"Ummm…you can't have my brains?"

She rolled her eyes. "In case you were deaf and blind on Friday while I was having my little spat with Mrs. Wattburgon, my grade in the class has dropped. I'm this close," she held her thumb and index finger a half centimeter apart, "to failing English. And I speak the freaking language!" She slumped back in the chair.

"So…what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, I can't skate until I raise my GPA. Sarah – my coach – isn't happy. She threatened to quit. My dad finally got her to agree to stay as long as I get my GPA raised by the end of this quarter."

"That's…good…?"

She nodded. "So, I asked Mrs. Wattburgon about extra credit assignments, but she doesn't want to give me anything until she knows I've caught up to where I need to be. She suggested I hire a tutor."

I almost groaned. I suddenly had a very good idea as to the direction this conversation was going…

"And guess who she suggested?" Katie added perkily.

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes…" She smirked at me. "She suggested I have you tutor me."

"But – but – but – I don't like you!"

She reached over and patted my hand. "Don't worry, Jamie, I don't like you either."

I was beginning to get an oddly familiar trapped feeling…I'd had this that day in Chem., when Katie had begun running her hands over my body.

You'd think I'd have a better attitude towards this particular feeling.

"But – but – there has to be another English tutor – "

"She says you're one of her best students in this class, and that because you're on the hockey team, your schedule will be similar to mine, so we can work out a routine a little more easily."

"How nice of her."

"Isn't it? She's so helpful."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not tutoring you. No way in hell. You threw volleyballs at me and Carlos."

She waved her hand airily, her bubble-gum pink nails a blur. "All in the past."

"You kept poking at my bruises!"

"Let bygones be bygones."

"You're a bitch to me!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Jamie-Bear, I'm a bitch to a lot of people. You're not that special."

"_Jamie-Bear_?!"

She nodded, beaming. "Like it?"

"No!"

"Tough luck."

"I'm going to go talk to Mrs. Wattburgon." I gathered my stuff and got to my feet.

"You do that."

I stormed out of the library, seething. I know, I know, I had been going on and on about how much I had missed Katie…but after having to put up with her in PE and Chemistry, I had been reminded of how much I really hated spending more than five minutes with her. Sure, the fighting was exhilarating and kind of hot, but I could only take so much of it. I didn't think I'd survive tutoring Katie. I figured I'd either end of a huge pile of ashes, or a huge pond of semen.

Neither option was particularly appealing.

I reached Mrs. Wattburgon's office. The door was closed, so I knocked.

"Come in," she called, and I opened the door, stepping in.

Her office looked like every other teacher office – blinds over a square window, beige wallpaper, plain carpet, and a wooden desk with an iBook adorning it.

"Ah, James, what can I do for you?"

"I just talked with Katie Knight. You suggested I tutor her?!"

She nodded, apparently not picking up on my rage. "I did. You seem to have a very good grasp on the subject, and because you both do sports, it just made sense to have you tutor her, since – "

"Our schedules would be so similar. Yeah, she mentioned that."

"So, I don't see what the trouble is. You'll get extra credit for it, of course."

"I will?"

She nodded again. "Quite a bit, actually. And it'll look wonderful on college applications. I'll even give you a personal recommendation."

"Oh…"

"And Katie could really use the help. So you would be a good Samaritan for doing this."

"But – but – the thing is – we don't really get along…"

"Oh, yes, the rivalry or feud or whatever it is between hockey players and figure skaters." She shook her head. "Well, I'm afraid you'll just have to get past that if you want the extra credit and college apps accessories."

"I – I guess…"

She beamed. "Good! Then it's settled! I'm sure Katie will be very happy to hear that!"

Oh, I was sure she would…Like a bloodhound, smelling a piece of dead meat.

I exited Mrs. Wattburgon's office, still seething, as I realized what had just happened. I had gotten manipulated into tutoring Katie! A teacher had just manipulated me into being a good Samaritan! Unbelievable. I was going to need therapy for this eventually.

There was only twenty minutes left in this period, but I figured I'd better get things arranged with Katie as quickly as possible, so I headed back to the library.

She was where I had left her, on her phone, fingers flying across the keypad.

I slid into the chair I had been sitting in originally, and folded my arms on the table, looking at her.

She looked up at me. "Well?"

"Well, I'll do it. But only because I'll get extra credit and Mrs. Wattburgon said it'd look good on my college applications and she'd add in a personal recommendation."

"To what, U.H.H? The University of Hockey Heads?"

"Let's lay some ground rules," I growled. "One – we cannot insult the other's sport or team."

"Fine."

"Two – no throwing stuff at me in PE, or doing anything to bodily injure me."

"I can do that."

"Three – when I'm tutoring you, I don't want to hear any insults coming from your mouth, because otherwise, screw the college apps. I won't do it. Got it?"

She nodded.

"Good. When do you want to begin?"

She sighed. "Tomorrow during Study Hall, I guess."

"Okay."

"Okay."

The bell rang at that moment, and we both got to our feet, packing everything up. We left the library, heading to English. As we took our seats in the classroom, I couldn't help but wonder just what exactly I had gotten myself into…

* * *

_**Well, James, good question ;) So, what did you guys think about the chapter? It was more of a filler chapter, but there were some necessary points in there. Anyway, let me know what you guys think! The review button and I will really appreciate it! :)**_


	6. Chapter 6: Blackmailing the Blackmailer

**_Whoohoo! Chapter six is up! Yeah, I'm kinda doing a mass update today. I hope you guys don't mind..._  
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**_Disclaimer: I'll give it to you straight: I. Do. Not. Own. Big. Time. Rush. End of story. The end._**

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**_Guest: Sorry for the lack of updates, I got really busy. I hope this chapter makes up for it! And thank you for reviewing! :)_**

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**_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! I love you all so much!_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Blackmailing the Blackmailer**

**James' POV (Cont.)**

I was still wondering what I had gotten myself into when I stepped into the gymnasium, side by side with Carlos, the next morning. So far it had been a very quiet, albeit stormy, morning. I was really hoping that the sudden onslaught of rain wasn't an omen for what was going to go down in the library in a few hours.

When I had casually mentioned to the guys the day before during hockey practice that I was going to tutor Katie, Kendall had slammed his hockey stick at the puck and missed, Logan had run into the railing, Carlos had toppled over, Dak had shook his head, checking for ice that might have gotten in his ear, and Shane, who had also managed to fall, began banging his head against the ice.

Their reactions weren't exactly positive.

"I'm sure Katie will be fine," Carlos said, sounding more nervous than what his words would have led me to believe. "After all, you're tutoring her, and she knows she needs to behave."

"Let's hope so…"

A moment later, Katie and Stephanie came out of the girls' locker room. Katie nodded at me, and then the girls headed over to their usual corner.

PE went by very uneventfully, and Carlos and I headed to Chem. without having to stop by the nurses' office first.

I hung out with Carlos and Kendall until class began, and then I joined Katie at our table.

"Have anything you want to say?" she asked me.

"No…"

"How about _thank you so much for not pelting me with volleyballs_?"

"Why would I thank you for that? It's not something you should be doing anyway."

"Well, it would have been nice to know that you appreciated the gesture."

I gave her a dirty look. "So, you want me to thank you for not bruising me, when I'm going to be tutoring you?"

She nodded. "Exactly. You're finally getting it."

"Yeah, I'm not tutoring you."

"Dude! We haven't even started! You can't back out now!" she protested.

"I have no reason to help you! You're a bitch."

"You already knew this when you agreed," she pointed out. "Besides, you're getting something out of it too."

"I don't care. I'm not doing this. It's not worth having to deal with you for a whole extra hour every day."

She remained quiet throughout the rest of class, but as we began to pack up, she pulled me aside. "You said it wasn't worth having to deal with me. Is it worth your brother's reputation?"

I blinked at her. "What're you talking about?"

"Your brother. Shane. He was staring at Kyle and blushing."

I swallowed hard. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe not, but do you really want to risk it? What if I accidentally let something slip to the wrong person? Shane's entire reputation could be ruined."

I shoved her aside. "You fucking bitch." I headed towards the cafeteria, but she followed me, running to keep up with me.

"You want this thing about your brother kept quiet? You tutor me."

"Do you even have a heart? Or do you keep alive feeding off everyone else's misery?"

She gave me a charming smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I'm not tutoring you."

"Not even for your little brother? Wow. What a caring big brother."

"You're a bully. I don't like bullies, and I don't give in to their demands."

"Too bad. You're getting more than enough out of this, so I don't think you can go around screaming about your dignity and how much you're suffering. Tutor me, James. I need your help and Shane's reputation is on the line. Do it, and no one will ever know."

"You don't know anything about his sexuality," I snarled. "You're only assuming based on circumstantial evidence."

"That's what a rumor is, and I'm the queen of them."

I swallowed again. She had me trapped, and judging by the little smirk playing around her lips, she knew it.

"Fine. I'll tutor you."

"Thank you!" she chirped.

"Uh huh, sure. I'm pretty sure I just sold my soul to the devil."

She grinned. "Not quite. But I do only survive in very hot places. And I look amazing in red."

"That's what I thought. I'll meet you in an hour in study hall." I headed into the cafeteria, grabbed my food, and sat down with the guys.

"Don't talk to me," I told them. "I'm already about ready to kill Katie."

"That bad already?" Logan said to me. "How're you two going to survive?"

"Not easily." I dug into my food, glowering at my plate. Once I had finished, I got to my feet and threw my trash away, before heading out of the cafeteria. It was very tempting to just skip study hall, but I knew that that would just be a temporary solution. I needed to figure out how to solve this problem permanently.

I walked into an empty classroom and closed the door, sitting down on a desk, biting my lip. Katie was a brat. And me tutoring her hadn't even phased her bratty-ness. She hadn't even thought twice about behaving herself, or trying to be nice. And why? Because she knew she didn't need to. She had something on me, and whether or not it was true she didn't really care. She could ruin my brother by simply pulling out her phone and texting someone. She had the power and I didn't like that. I needed to figure out a way to get the upper hand in this arrangement.

The first idea that came into my mind was that I could dig up something damaging on her. After all, didn't we all have our dirty little secrets, whether they were ours or our families'? But the fact was, I was too nice for my own good. I could never release one of her secrets, or make something up about her. It was against my very nature. And I was betting that she knew it.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. How the hell was I supposed to get the upper hand in this battle? I needed to ensure that she would actually start being nice to the hockey players, and that she wouldn't tell everyone that Shane was gay. I think that was the part that pissed me off the most. She didn't even know for sure, but she was still willing to tell the entire school about him. How would she like it if someone told the entire school about her failing grade in English – wait.

I smirked slightly. Okay, so it might be a little hard for me to tell people that she was failing English, and it wasn't even that big of a deal. But I was betting that she wouldn't want that news spread around. Plus, my friends knew, and one of them could 'slip up'.

It wasn't much, but it was a start, and it might just scare her into straightening up her attitude for a day or two.

With that thought, I slid off the desk and left the classroom.

I headed to the library and plopped down at the table I had been at yesterday. I pulled out my English textbook and notebook, and waited for Katie to show up.

She did, five minutes later. She sat down next to me, swinging her long hair out of her face.

"Let's get one thing straight," I said to her. "You're going to be nice and polite to me, because if you don't, the entire school's going to know that you're failing English. I'm sure you wouldn't want that information to get out, now would you?"

She blinked at me, and then started laughing. "Are you seriously trying to blackmail me?"

"I'm not _trying_; I am."

She patted my cheek. "You'll never go through with it."

"Maybe I won't, but Kendall, Logan, and Carlos all know about it. All it's going to take is us talking about it in front of the wrong person, and the entire school's going to know. Oh, and that will also happen if you say anything about Shane."

"You're blackmailing me with my English grade?"

"For the time being."

"Oh?"

I nodded. "At least until I can dig up something better on you."

"Are you serious?" she gaped at me. "But you're friends with Kendall."

"So? You two barely talk. And once he knows you were going to ruin my brother's reputation, he'll understand."

She took a deep breath, but her eyes darkened with anger. "You know what? Fuck you. I don't need your help. I'll do it on my own."

I watched in astonishment as she got to her feet and heaved her messenger bag over her shoulder. "I will ruin your life if my grades get out. Stay the fuck away from me." And she stormed out of the library.

I sat at the table in complete shock. What the hell had just happened?!

I exhaled deeply. I guess the blackmailer couldn't handle being the blackmailee…

I finally stood up and gathered everything together. I hid out in the boys' bathroom for the rest of that period.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

The second I was out of the library, I broke into a run, dashing through the hall and outside, racing towards the ice skating rink. I pushed into the lobby and ran to the girls' locker room. The second the door closed behind me, I sank down to the floor, sobbing.

Fine. I admit it. I'm a bitch. I'm a bully. I'm a conniving, manipulative little brat. But I had never thought that James Diamond of all people would ever even attempt to challenge me at my own game. And I certainly never thought that he'd be able to use my brother against me, or that he'd be willing to. He definitely wasn't the innocent little hick from Minnesota that everyone else seemed to think he was. I had no idea what he was, but there was definitely a lot more to him that what I had originally thought.

"Katie?"

I looked up as the locker room door opened and Kyle walked into the room.

He quickly closed the door and sat down next to me. "What happened?"

"N-n-nothing," I sobbed out.

He wrapped his arms around me. "Then why are you crying? Weren't you supposed to be meeting with James Diamond?"

I silently nodded.

"Come on, Katie, tell me what happened."

I leaned into him. "I don't wanna."

He sighed. "So, your cat and mouse game finally backfired on you, huh?"

"Something like that…I was blackmailing him into tutoring me, and now he's blackmailing me right back. And he's gonna use Kendall against me."

"Katie…" he sighed. "I told you one of these times there would be someone who would beat you at your own game. You brought this on yourself."

"I'm crying and you're telling me that this is my fault?!"

"Yes. And I'm sorry if that makes me a bad best friend, I really am, but we both know that it's the truth. Look, I don't know what you're blackmailing James with, but if he's bringing Kendall into this, then it must have been something pretty bad."

I sighed. "Yeah…It kind of is…"

"So, he's not going to be tutoring you?"

I shook my head. "I ran out on him."

"Katie, if you want to ice skate again, you're going to need his help. What does he want?"

"He wants me to be _nice_ to him. Can you believe that? He doesn't deserve – "

Kyle shook me slightly. "What is it with you and thinking that people deserve you being nice to them? I've seen him in the halls, and I've heard him talking to his friends. He seems like a really nice guy. You can't just push around anyone you want, Katie. Now, you need to go and find him and tell him that you're willing to go ahead with the tutoring sessions and that you'll be nice."

"But – "

"You need to do it. He was nice enough to agree to tutor you, to take an hour out of his own life to help you with yours. You should be grateful, especially considering your little stunt in PE a couple of weeks ago. You've done nothing but treat him like crap from day one. Now you need to try to make it right."

"He's a hockey player – "

"So, what? He's our mortal enemy?"

"Yes."

"No. No, he isn't."

"Yes he – "

"No. Katie, I'm a gay figure skater. Believe me, I know who my enemies are, because I've got a lot of them. And _no one_ on the hockey team is my enemy."

"But they're mine."

"And they're yours because you've made them yours. The same goes for Jo, Stephanie, and Jett. They can complain all they want about how rotten the hockey players are to them, but they're even worse. Camille and I don't have any problems with the hockey team because we don't make them. And you can't afford to have James as an enemy. So go and make sure that he doesn't become one."

"I really hate you," I informed him.

"Yeah, I know, but you also love me." He helped me to my feet, and I grabbed a paper towel. I wiped my face and blew my nose, before tossing it in the trash. I walked over to the sink and brushed my hair and reapplied my makeup.

"How do I look?" I asked him once I had finished.

"Beautiful like always. Now go and charm the pants off of him."

"Figuratively or literally?" I smirked.

"You know you want to literally."

"Okay, really? It was a joke."

"It's not a joke if you actually mean it."

"I don't mean it…"

"Yes you do. That red in your cheeks? Yeah, that's not from makeup."

"Screw you."

"Sorry, you have boobs, so you're not my type."

"Barely," I mumbled, looking down at my chest with distaste.

"You had them two weeks ago…"

"Yeah, well, Sarah made me lose five pounds. I'm back to an A cup." I sighed.

"At least you're petite," he pointed out. "So it doesn't look so small on you…"

"Kyle, I barely have any chest. I'm an A 32! Do you know what they say A stands for?"

"_A plus_…?" he tried hopefully.

"No! _Almost_ there! That's all I am! _Almost_!"

"What's B…?"

"Barely there."

"Well, it doesn't count because you're only about five foot one on a good day," Kyle said with false cheerfulness.

I groaned and leaned against the wall. "I look like a boy. I'm a sixteen year old girl and I have the body of a boy."

"No you don't. Wait – are you PMSing?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

He sighed.

"What?"

"You know what. Check your calendar."

"It's at my house."

He face-palmed. "Katie? Do you have your phone with you?"

"What? Oh…"

"Yeah…"

"My bad…"

"No kidding…"

I pulled my phone out of my skirt pocket and checked my calendar. Yep, my period was due to start on Saturday.

"Do you have Midol with you?"

"In my locker in here." I walked over to it, unlocked it, and pulled out the bottle. I found a bottle of water in my bag, and took a couple of pills.

"You get so freaking moody and emotional when you're PMSing," Kyle sighed. "I should have known right away."

"It's not your job to keep track of my cycle. That's mine."

"And you suck at it," he teased.

I stuck my tongue out at him, just as the bell rang.

"Come on, let's go," he said, and we hurried out of the locker room.

"How did you even find me?" I asked him.

"I just finished up my routine when I saw you run by the rink." He gestured to his practice outfit, which I hadn't even noticed he was wearing because I was so used to seeing him in it.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't have to leave the rink – "

"You're my best friend and you looked upset. Of course I was going to go after you."

I smiled at him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

We pulled back, and hurried to our different classes. I slid into my seat in English just as the late bell rang.

Mrs. Wattburgon began the lecture, and I made sure to take very clear and precise notes. By the end of the class, my hand was cramping so hard I thought I might have done some vital damage to it.

As everyone else packed up, I walked over to James. "Look…I'm sorry."

He blinked at me. "I don't think I heard you right. I could have sworn you just apologized to me."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because…because I was out of line earlier. I'm sorry. I'm used to being able to push everyone around and I _always_ get my way, and when I didn't, I kind of freaked out. Can we try again tomorrow?"

He sighed and leaned against his desk, his bangs falling into his eyes. "Will you be nice?"

I nodded. "I'll try."

"Okay. Tomorrow after lunch."

"Sounds good." I headed back to my desk and gathered everything up. I really needed something salty and sour…This _being nice_ crap had left a bad taste in my mouth.

After school, I drove home. Dad wouldn't be home until at least eight that night, so I had the house to myself for awhile. I got the rest of my homework done, and then walked down to the kitchen to make myself some dinner. Just as I was about to pull out a can of Clam Chowder, my phone beeped with a new text. I checked it and saw that it was Sarah's annual evening reminder: **Every pound shows in a skating leotard. Stick to salad and broth. I don't want you to be over 95 pounds when you return to skating. –S**.

I sighed and resisted the urge to text her back **Screw you**. It was tempting, but I didn't want to piss her off. So I made myself a large cup of chicken broth and a salad, and dumped a tablespoon of Caesar dressing over the salad. I plopped down in front of the TV with my food and ate while watching _Gossip Girl_.

I spent the next morning mentally preparing myself to be sweet as sugar to the hockey head. How he had managed to be top of our English class was beyond me…I was betting that he was a complete idiot otherwise. Okay, fine. So he didn't do too badly in Chem. But that was sheer luck. We'd gotten an easy chemistry class.

I behaved myself in PE and Chem. lab, and didn't say anything snarky to him in the cafeteria at lunch time. By the time study hall rolled around, I felt like I should be sucking on a lollipop and skipping down a rainbow paved street.

It was not a good feeling.

James was waiting for me in the library. He had our English textbook out, along with his notes and something that looked like the test from last week. It had a big red _A+_ on it.

Show off.

He looked up at me as I approached. "Ready?"

"Yeah." I sat down opposite him, trying not to grit my teeth. I swear, even his _clothes_ hung perfectly on him. No, no, that wasn't it. There wasn't room for them to hang. His body was all muscle. Wonderfully delicious muscle…

Oh crap. And now he had my hormones going. If I ended up giving him a lap dance, it was not my fault! It was his fault, for using his gym membership to the fullest extent.

I took a deep breath. "So, what are we working on?"

"Allegories."

"Great. Definition please?"

"It's basically symbolism."

"Awesome. What's symbolism?"

I got the weirdest feeling he was about ready to start banging his head against the table.

"Symbolism is basically just that – symbols and their meanings. It's like – like – like rain signifying being sad."

"So, when it's raining, that means the world's sad?"

He face-palmed.

It took him an entire hour of explanations before I finally understood what symbolism and allegories were.

"We'll work on your assignments and stuff tomorrow," James told me as we began packing up. "That'll be the best way for you to really understand what it is we've been doing."

I sighed. I hated repeating assignments. Doing homework once was bad enough. Doing it a second time should have been punishable by law. "Okay."

He nodded. "Come on, let's go to English."

Going to English was the last thing I wanted to do. My head was swimming with all the information I had just soaked up. All I wanted to do now was to get out onto the ice and skate. I hadn't skated since Friday, and I was craving it.

Nevertheless, I walked to English class with James. I plopped down in my usual chair and gave Mrs. Wattburger the evil eye. Per usual, she ignored me and went on with the lesson.

Class finally ended, and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Anything to get away from the Wattburger and the Diamond in the Rough.

* * *

**James' POV**

I continued to tutor Katie through Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. After Tuesday's study session, she seemed to get the basic gist of allegories and symbolism, although she was still struggling during our tutoring session on Friday afternoon. And yeah, I'll admit, I wasn't as attentive as I should have been. In just a few hours the hockey game would be over and we'd know the outcome. But until then…

I was beyond nervous. I wanted to show the ice skating snobs what they could do with their figure skates, and I wanted to prove that the hockey team was amazing, fantastic, wonderful, and on top of the world.

And I couldn't do that if we lost.

At last, Katie spoke: "Are you okay? You've been really quiet and not half as annoying as you were yesterday. Either I'm getting used to you, or something's wrong. And I don't think it's the former."

She always knows how to make me feel better.

"Just nervous about the game tonight," I mumbled out as I checked over the assignment she'd been working on.

"Oh. Well, don't worry about it. My brother's the captain, and as much as I hate to admit it, he's pretty good at hockey. But don't tell him I said that. I don't want to ruin our relationship."

I smiled a little. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Good. Now, how many questions did I get wrong this time?"

By seven-o-clock, the ice rink was packed with people. My stomach was churning like crazy, and I felt like I might end up throwing up my dinner at any second. Gearing up felt like it took all of five seconds, and then Coach Billings was coming into the locker room and giving us a pep talk. The next thing I knew, we were skating out onto the ice.

The game was a total blur, a colorful rush of nets, hockey sticks, and goals. Exactly what I loved the most about it. It was an adrenaline rush, a power trip. All I could focus on was the game, and getting the puck to the other team's net.

And then…

The buzzer sounded, and I heard the scores: La Castillo High won by three points. Yes! Yes!

Once we did our victory lap, we headed back to the locker room.

Kendall grinned at us. "Good game, team."

We all grinned back and high-fived each other.

Once Shane and I had changed, we walked out of the locker room, to where Mom was waiting for us. She squealed and hugged us both. "You two were amazing out there! I'm so proud of you guys!"

"Yeah, you two did a good job."

We all looked around to find Katie walking towards us. She was dressed casual for once, in sparkly jeans that looked like she might have bought them in the kids' section of a clothing store, and a thick hoodie and sneakers.

"You came?" Shane asked, surprised.

"Duh. I had to see my hockey-head brother play and make sure that my English tutor didn't get a concussion."

Mom's eyes widened when she realized who Katie was. Immediately she straightened up and smiled brightly at her. "Hi! You must be Katie Knight! I've heard so much about you! I'm Brooke Diamond, James' and Shane's mom."

I mentally groaned. Did she have to bring up the fact that I'd mentioned Katie a few times? Really?

Katie actually smiled back. "Nice to meet you. Anyway," she turned to me, "see you on Monday." And with that, she headed off to find Kendall.

Mom turned to me. "She's pretty."

I groaned out loud this time. "Can we go?"

"Well, she is."

"I know!"

Mom chuckled as we headed out to the car. "I can't wait to see what happens with you two."

* * *

_**Sorry if the ending was a little rushed or if this chapter was a little bumpy or uneven. Hopefully it was okay and you guys liked it! So...do a favor for the review button and let me know what you think? :)**_


	7. Chapter 7 Let the Games Begin

**_Here's Chapter Seven! Whoo hoo!_  
**

**_Disclaimer: After what I constantly put James and Katie through, I wouldn't be allowed to own Big Time Rush, even if I could afford it. So nope, I do not own Big Time Rush._**

**_Guest: Hopefully this makes up for that! Thank you for reviewing!_**

**_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I love you guys so much, more than you know! :D_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Let the Games Begin**

**James' POV**

As we left the school, Mom grinned at me. I mentally groaned. Here we go...

"Katie's very pretty, isn't she?"

Shane smirked. "Doesn't she look good in red, James?" he asked, referring to the color of her shirt.

"Shut up," I groaned. "I'm not talking about this."

"So, you admit it. You think she looks good in red."

"I think I'm gonna duct tape your mouth shut if you don't shut up about Katie."

Shane grinned widely. "Bring it!" and with that, he took off across the parking lot.

I ran after him, and quickly caught up with him. I leapt onto his back and sent us tumbling down in the middle of the parking lot.

"Boys!" I heard Mom screech, but Shane and I ignored her – we were too busy rolling around on the ground and laughing our heads off.

"So, where's the duct tape?" Shane grinned at me as I got him pinned to the ground.

"In my backpack."

"I'm waiting."

"James! Get off your little brother!" Mom cried as she reached us, three inch heeled boots clacking against the pavement.

I pouted. "Aww. Do I have to?"

"Yes!" She hauled me up, and Shane got to his feet, still laughing. We brushed our clothes off, and headed to the car. "So, I was thinking about taking you guys home so that you could get a real shower, and then driving us to a restaurant," Mom told Shane and me.

We both grinned. "Sounds good!" I chirped.

Once the car was in park, Shane and I leapt out and hurried into the house to take quick showers and change clothes.

As soon as we were ready, we were back in the car. Mom drove us to a hamburger place that was set up like the old diners from the '50s.

We sat in a red leather booth, waiting for our menus to be brought out.

"You two did amazing tonight!" Mom said to us enthusiastically. "I'm so proud of you two! You were incredible!"

We both beamed.

"Thank you!" we chimed together.

We were almost done with our food when my phone buzzed in my jeans pocket. I pulled it out and checked it. It was a text from Katie: **Nice job, loser. I was almost proud of you.**

Wow. From Katie, that was like a declaration of love.

"You look happy," Shane observed.

My head snapped up. "What? I do not."

"Yes you do. You've got this huge, dopey smile spreading across your face."

I blushed. "I do not!"

"You do! Katie texted you, didn't she?"

I scowled. "None of your business!"

"Hah! She did!" He snatched my phone from me and read the text. "_Nice job, loser. I was almost proud of you._ Hey, James, I think she's warming up to you!"

I grabbed my phone back from him. "Shut it."

Mom chuckled. "She's high maintenance, isn't she?"

Shane grinned widely and held his thumb and index finger apart a couple of centimeters. "Just a _little_ bit."

"Hmmph." I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and grabbed a couple of fries.

After the excitement of Friday night, the rest of the weekend was relatively quiet. I did my homework, watched TV, and chatted with Carlos a little bit on Facebook on Sunday afternoon.

On Monday morning, Shane and I walked into the school together. People congratulated us on our victory from Friday evening, and quite a few girls tried to chat with us. Shane politely brushed them off, but I stuck around to flirt with them.

It was particularly fun when Katie was nearby. She tended to get this cute little glare on her face, and she'd shoot nasty looks at the girl and me. She never mentioned these little incidents in any of our classes together, or during our tutoring session, but I could tell that it made her grind her teeth. I liked the idea that seeing me flirt with another girl could do that to her.

"I don't know why you're so surprised," Logan said to me that day during lunch. Kendall and Carlos were running late, since they had managed to spill their lab experiment in Chem. lab and Ms. Straumner was making them clean up the mess. Shane would be there any moment, but he had been held up as well.

"What do you mean?" I looked up at him from my beef stroganoff.

"About Katie getting pissed over you flirting with other girls. It's not exactly a secret that you two want to jump each other."

I gaped at him, completely dumbstruck. "What – you – I – _what_?"

"You want to jump Katie. She wants to jump you. Didn't I say that in plain English before?"

"But – I mean – huh?" I looked at him helplessly.

"You want to have sex with each other!" he cried, causing several people within a ten foot range to turn and stare at us.

"Mind your own business," he snapped at them, before looking back at me. "You and Katie are fiercely attracted to each other. You have been since day one. You love aggravating each other, because it gets your blood pumping."

"It's an adrenaline rush," I agreed.

"Exactly. You two love it! And the fact that you're a hockey player and she's a figure skater just adds to it, because hockey players and figure skaters do not date, and they certainly don't sleep together."

"So, what am I supposed to do about this?"

"Nothing." He bit into his apple.

I blinked at him. "You just told me that Katie and I want to sleep together, and now you're telling me we don't do anything about it?"

"Yep."

"I'm done talking to you."

"Okay. Oh, and whatever you do, don't look over at Katie's table."

I looked over at Katie's table.

"I hate you," I informed him as my eyes bugged out slightly. She was eating frozen vanilla yogurt, topped with cherries and strawberries. Even from where I was sitting, I could see the way she was wrapping her lips and tongue around her spoon, trying to get all of the yogurt off. It was probably a pretty innocent move…

…Or it would have been, if she didn't keep cutting her eyes to me. When she realized I was watching her, she smirked around her spoon, and made a twisting motion with her tongue, like she was wrapping it around something that wasn't her spoon…

I let out a tiny whimper. Oh my God…

She pulled the spoon out of her mouth, and instead dipped her finger into her yogurt and placed it in her mouth, sucking it all off.

I whined quietly. Why was she doing this to me? _Why_?!

"Ummm…dude?" Carlos' voice jolted me out of my Katie-induced trance. "Why're you squishing your sandwich?"

I blinked and managed to look away from Katie. I glanced down and winced. Sure enough, my sandwich was being squashed into a ball in my hand.

Logan snickered. "I told you not to look."

"Shut up."

"What wasn't he supposed to look at?" Kendall wanted to know as he sat down with us.

"Your sister was doing stuff to her spoon," Logan informed him.

"Such as?"

"Mimicking a blow job."

He dry choked.

"Who was mimicking a blow job?" Shane asked as he joined us, sitting down next to me.

"Katie," Logan answered. "She was doing things to her spoon."

"And then she started sucking on her finger," I moaned.

Shane snickered. "Sucks to be you."

I glared at him.

"Well, we know what he'll be jacking off to tonight," Carlos piped up.

My face turned bright red, and Kendall clapped his hands over his ears. "Not in front of me! I'M NOT LISTENING TO THIS!"

"How am I supposed to face her now?" I asked them.

"Well, you faced her just fine after he practically groped you," Shane pointed out. "Just act like it didn't happen."

"I guess…"

He nodded. "She probably won't even bring it up."

"I hope not."

"And if she does…well…just take her to a supply closet and have your wicked way with her," he grinned.

"Shane!" I hissed. "Not – we can't – not in school!"

"So, outside of school?"

"No!"

"But she's trying to tempt you."

"Or she's trying to humiliate me."

The others shrugged. "You never know with Katie," Logan admitted. "But that's a bold move. Seems to me like she might be trying to get you back for flirting with those other girls."

I blinked at him.

"Come on, you pissed her off. Did you really think she wouldn't try to get some kind of revenge on you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," I reluctantly admitted.

"Well, you better be prepared. I doubt this is the end of it. You're in trouble."

"I'm always in trouble when it comes to Katie. That much hasn't changed."

He shrugged. "Well, lots of luck. You're going to need it."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Logan just shrugged and took a sip of his apple juice.

When the bell rang, I dredged off to the library to meet up with Katie. I beat here there, so I set up our study area.

She showed up a couple minutes later. "So, in the mood for frozen vanilla yogurt now?" she smirked at me as she dropped into the chair across from me.

Shane had been so wrong.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I retorted.

"Really?" she licked her lips, sliding the tip of her tongue slowly and tantalizingly over them. "Well, damn."

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. "Come on, we need to work on analyzing this Emily Dickinson poem."

"Fine." She scooted over to me and we began to go through it.

About halfway through, she looked at me. "Is Shane gay?"

I pulled back, startled. "What?"

"Is Shane gay?" she repeated.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "Just wondering."

"Well, it's none of your business if he is or not."

She sighed. "Look, I have a friend who's gay, and I think he and Shane would be a cute couple."

I stared at her. Was she serious?!

"It'd be good for both of them," she added. "If Shane is gay, I mean. And judging from your reaction, I'd say he is."

"I'm not saying either way," I replied. Shane and I had long since agreed that neither of us would lie if we were asked about his sexual orientation, but that didn't mean I had to say outright that he was gay. I didn't have a problem with it, but a lot of people did, and I didn't want to put him in an uncomfortable position.

Katie scooted her chair back and crossed her legs. "Come on, James, let me set him up with my friend."

I shook my head. "Sorry, but it's not happening."

"I'll push you until you give in."

"I know."

She reached over and ran her finger over my neck. "Please?"

"No," I said firmly, and moved away from her.

Her eyes narrowed, and I knew in that moment that she was going to push me over the edge.

She didn't do anything else for the rest of the day, and I could only hope that she had simply forgotten about her threat.

Tuesday morning did not start out all that well. Katie had once more invaded my dreams…using her tongue the way she had used it on the spoon, only there weren't any eating utensils in sight…

Mom raised her eyebrows as I handed her my sheets, my face bright red.

"Katie?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Shane smirked at me as he walked out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair. "So, what was she doing in your dream?"

"Shut up."

"Did she blow you?"

"You don't listen." I pushed past him into the bathroom.

"She did, didn't she?"

"I'm not talking to you about this."

"If you can't talk to your brother, than who can you talk to?"

"God!" I answered, and then slammed the door shut and locked it.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and took a quick shower, before heading back to my room. As I pulled on a fresh pair of boxers, my phone vibrated. I grabbed it to check the text, and immediately wished I hadn't – it was from Katie: **Did you dream about me last night? About how talented my lips and tongue are? ;)**

I groaned. Why oh why did she have to do this to me?! It wasn't fair! I was trying to protect Shane. If her friend was gay, then wouldn't she understand that?

_She's selfish_, I reminded myself. _She doesn't think about anyone but herself. She doesn't see anything outside of her own little world._

Scowling, I finished getting dressed and headed downstairs.

"Shane was just telling me about a boy at your school," Mom told me as I sat down. "His name's Kyle?"

I nodded. "He's an ice skater. He seems to be pretty nice."

"Is he gay?"

I paused, as something fell into place. Katie had said her friend was gay…Kyle was her friend…And he didn't exactly seem to hate Shane if you get my drift…

"I – I don't know…"

"Oh. Well, Shane's interested in him."

"Mo-om!" Shane whined. "I just said he's cute and maybe gay! I didn't say I'm interested in him!"

"Maybe you should try to go out with him," I suggested as I took a bite of cereal. If Shane went out with Kyle, than that would get Katie off my back. Maybe things could be solved really, really easily, and Katie wouldn't send me anymore teasing texts.

Shane snorted. "Yeah, right. I don't want a boyfriend. I mean, I do, but…not yet. I don't want to go through what I went through in Shakopee," he added quietly. "I'm just not ready."

I nodded, stomach sinking. He was right. Once he started dating, the atmosphere would go from non-threatening to aggressive in ten seconds flat. I couldn't do that to him. I just couldn't. I would just have to take whatever crap Katie threw my way. But I wasn't going to put my little brother in danger.

Once Shane and I finished eating, we headed off to school.

"So, Halloween's coming up," Shane grinned.

"Yeah, in, like, a half week," I said.

"They have a Halloween/homecoming dance on Saturday. Think you'll go?"

I snorted. "I doubt it. I don't have anyone to go with."

"You have the guys. Ohhh…you were thinking of – "

"Do not say her name."

"Say whose name?" chirped a female voice from behind us. "My name?"

Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap.

Shane and I both turned around to find ourselves facing Katie. She gave us a stunning smile, before switching to a pout.

"You never texted me back," she whined to me.

"Because it was none of your business what I dreamed about last night."

"You've gotta give a girl something. It's not like hot guys are falling from the ceiling around here."

There was a pause where Shane and I both looked up at the ceiling.

Yeah, okay, no hot guys.

Katie shook her head. "Are you two going to the dance?" she asked us.

"Well, Mr. Life-Of-The-Party isn't," Shane answered her with a pointed look at me. "But I'm going to try to go."

"Are you going with anyone?"

He shook his head.

"Well, would you like to go with someone?"

He blinked. "Ummm…"

"Not me! Gross. Like I would lower myself to date a _hockey head_." She made a disgusted face.

"Yeah, because hockey players are so last season," I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes.

She ignored me. "But I do have a friend who would love to go with you."

Shane shook his head again. "Sorry, Katie, I've gotta say no to this one. I'd rather just go with my friends. But thanks for thinking of me." He patted her arm and then headed off to his locker.

Katie turned to face me, looking slightly affronted. "I don't believe it. He's just as stubborn as you!"

I smirked and walked towards my locker. "It runs in the family."

"I got told _no_ by two hockey heads!"

"Honestly, what is this world coming to?" I reached my locker and opened it. She joined me about a half second later.

"He'll listen to you."

"About what?" I pulled what I needed to out of my locker.

"About going to the dance."

"I doubt it."

"Please. You're his big brother. He worships the ground you walk on."

I snorted.

"He does! I can see it in the way he looks at you. He looks up to you. So he'll listen to you."

"I'm not going to tell him to go to the dance with whoever your friend is. There are reasons why he doesn't want a date."

"And what're those reasons?" she cocked her hip.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you. It's his business. If he wants you to know, he'll share it with you."

She stomped her foot. "You Diamond boys are so damn frustrating!"

I winked at her. "And we get worse once you get to know us."

"I'm not finished with you," she snarled.

"I never thought you were."

She gave me a smirk, before walking by me, and jutting her hip right into my zipper. She rolled it slightly, before sauntering off, throwing me a wink over her shoulder.

I let out a small whimper. Oh man…I looked up at the ceiling. "God? I think I could really use your help right about now…"

He must have had a lot of pleas for help that day, because he didn't get around to answering my request. Or else he thought that dealing with Katie would make me a better, stronger person. I preferred the latter.

Whatever his reasons were, he didn't intervene when it came to her. And believe me, Katie made sure to tease me as often as she could. During PE, she'd sashay by me, wearing the smallest pair of shorts and lowest cut shirt she could get away with. In Chemistry, she made sure to touch me every couple of minutes. At lunch, she once more had frozen vanilla yogurt with strawberries and cherries. I watched, completely transfixed, as she once more wrapped her tongue around her spoon, licking off every drop of the yogurt, and then set it down, before proceeding to pop a strawberry into her mouth. Once she had swallowed that, she wrapped her lips around a cherry, eyes locking with mine, and slowly pulled it off the stem.

I stuffed my fist into my mouth to keep from whimpering.

"Dude," Logan said to me. "Just to let you know, if you get caught jacking off in the bathroom, you'll get suspended."

I groaned.

"Why is she doing this to you?" Carlos asked. "I mean, the way she's teasing you…Is it just that she's trying to get a rise out of you – wait – I didn't mean – "

Kendall covered his hands with his ears. "LA LA LA! I'm not listening to you talk about this!"

"I know what you meant," I assured Carlos. "And…it's complicated."

"Why is it complicated?"

I sighed. "It just is. I wish it wasn't, but it is."

"Does it involve someone else? Does she want you to do something?"

I reluctantly nodded. "Yes and yes."

Shane looked at me. "What is it?"

Kendall cautiously removed his hands from his ears. "Is it safe?"

Logan nodded. "It's safe."

I shook my head, addressing Shane's question. "It's not important. I'll deal with it on my own."

"But – she's going out of her way to turn you on…"

"Or not…" Logan corrected himself.

"And I'll deal with it. This can't last forever, right?" I said to Shane.

"I – I guess not – "

"Maybe she just wants you to ask her out," Carlos suggested. "Take her to the dance! I bet she'd love that."

I snorted. "She wouldn't go out with a hockey player."

Kendall nodded in agreement. "She wouldn't. It's one of her rules. She doesn't date hockey heads."

"Does she even date?" Logan asked.

"Nope. Mainly because of her bitch coach, Sarah. She won't let Katie even look at a boy most of the time. When Sarah finds out about whatever's going on between you and Katie," Kendall addressed me, "some serious shit is going to go down."

"I can believe it."

Tutoring Katie went as well as could be expected. We had a chapter test coming up on Friday, and Katie was determined to pass it. This, thankfully, meant that she was more focused on studying the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story that was last night's homework than teasing me and trying to get a rise out of me.

It made a nice change of pace.

She teased me through Wednesday and Thursday. It was the same routine. She'd walk by me and nudge her hip into my zipper. Let her fingers brush over my chest. Stuff like that. Always just enough for me to feel myself begin to react, but she never pushed past that.

She also continued to haunt my dreams every night. Every dream was a little different, but they all elicited the same effect from me.

"Sweetie," Mom said to me on Thursday morning, "I know you can't help these dreams, but…Have you tried something else?"

"Like what?" I looked at her as I pushed my _Cocoa-Puffs_ around in my cereal bowl. "Yoga?"

She shook her head. "Masturbating."

Beside me, Shane choked on his _Cap'n Crunch_.

My face reddened. I had…every night…and it didn't do any good…

Mom sighed, taking my burning face as a yes. "Damn hormones, right?" she gave me a weak smile.

I nodded, looking back down at my cereal.

She reached over and took my hand. "Whatever this girl's doing to you, give it back to her."

"What makes you think she's doing something?"

Shane suddenly stood up. "I'll wait in the car."

"You told her, didn't you?" I glared at him. "You told her!"

"I had to! She asked me if I knew why you were having so many…problems. But I think she's right. You should give it back to Katie. Make her want you as much as you want her."

"How?"

"I don't know! You're creative! Figure something out!"

I turned to Mom. "And you approve of this?"

"No. But I think it's the only thing you can do at this point. I mean, how're you supposed to go to the principle and say that Katie's teasing you? He's not going to buy it. And I'm sure you've tried to get her to stop, and that's not working. So yeah. This is your best bet."

I nodded, biting my lip. I had no idea how I was going to do this, but it would be worth a try.

"They're right," Carlos said to me after PE that morning. We had just finished showering and were about to re-dress. "You need to give it right back to Katie."

"But fighting fire with fire? All you get is more fire."

"Yes, but at the very least you'll be holding your own, until you can come up with a way to get her to stop. You've gotta try it."

I sighed as I pulled my boxers on. "I guess…"

"You need to."

I slid my jeans on, but before I could zip them up and button them, there was a commotion from outside. Every guy in the locker room ran to the door, and we all piled out into the gymnasium. The girls came rushing out too, most of them fully dressed and holding hair dryers or brushes.

The football players were running around the gymnasium, throwing confetti into the air and blowing on party horns.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Reminding everyone about the big game on Saturday. Awesome."

But that wasn't what was drawing my eyes.

Katie was looking over at me, completely dressed, her hair down and around her shoulders. Her eyes grazed over me, over my bare shoulders, chest, abs, open jeans, like she was starving and I was a huge cheeseburger. Her eyes seemed to smolder slightly, and it looked as if her breath might have caught in her throat.

A slow grin crossed my face. Apparently she liked my body. And, unless I was very much mistaken, she was getting turned on.

Well, Miss Knight, Mom, Shane, and Carlos were right. Two can play at this game. Bring it on.

* * *

_**Things just got interesting...What'd you guys think? Any thoughts on James and Katie? Show the review button some love and let me know! I love hearing what you have to say :)**_


	8. Chapter 8 Not the Winner Nor the Loser

**_Wow, an update less than week after my last one ;) I'm so proud of myself now!_  
**

**_Disclaimer: I'm going to keep it simple this time. I do not own Big Time Rush. There. Simple enough?_**

**_Guest: Did I update soon enough for you? ;) Thank you for reviewing!_**

**_Guest (#2): Well, hopefully this chapter will kind of answer some of your questions. Thank you for reviewing!  
_**

**_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or is just simply reading this story! I really appreciate it, and I love you all for it!_**

**_So, this chapter is kind of the Halloween chapter, if you will. Not that it's spooky or anything, it's just that it's the Halloween dance for them. Just that I'd mention that random little piece of info that you'd probably figure out once you read the chapter anyway. ;)_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Neither the Winner Nor the Loser**

**Katie's POV**

That. Little. Jerk! Just when I thought I had him where I wanted him, he turned around and did something like this!

How was I supposed to get him to do what I wanted now, when he knew he could tease me right back? I saw that cocky grin on his face. He knew…Oh man, did he know…

My breathing picked up slightly as my mind envisioned the V of his hips that trailed right down into his jeans…Open jeans…Granted, he'd been wearing boxers, but if he hadn't been…

Okay! That's it! I needed to stop. I needed to stop thinking about James like that, because all it was going to do was keep me from concentrating, and I really needed to. Chemistry class was about to start, and James had just walked into the room.

Telling myself to stop didn't keep me from thinking that it was crime for him to cover up his body with clothes.

I almost banged my head against my textbook. Unbelievable. Since when did I start getting this dirty? Before he showed up, I wouldn't have dreamed of tempting anyone via vanilla frozen yogurt, or snapping my hip into someone's crotch. That just wasn't me. I was adorably innocent, with insanely awesome focus. No one – especially cocky, know-it-all boys – could make me lose my cool over anything.

Except James.

For some inexplicable reason, whenever I was around him, I felt like I was losing my mind. Not only that, but my brain constantly went straight into the gutter.

James sat down next to me. "So, is that a tradition?"

"What?" my head snapped up to look at him.

"For the football team to go running through the gym, throwing confetti and blowing horns?"

I nodded. "It's stupid, and it usually throws them in detention, but yeah, they do it anyway."

"That is stupid," he agreed, leaning back in his chair.

I nodded again, trying not to notice the way his bangs fell into his eyes, giving him an almost mysterious appearance. Damn it. Why did he have to be so gorgeous? It was so hard to concentrate with him around.

I shook myself out of it, reminding myself that I was on a mission to set Shane up with Kyle. That is, if I could just get James to convince Shane to go out with him.

Ms. Straumner called the class to order a couple seconds later, and went through what we were going to be doing for the day. James opened his textbook to the correct page, and I followed suit, brushing my leg against his.

I expected him to jump slightly, and move away, but instead he pushed his leg slightly against mine.

Oh…um…I hadn't expected that…

"Something wrong?" he asked, sounding slightly amused.

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"Good." We figured out what we needed to do, and began the lab experiment.

Partway through, I managed to regain my usual edge, and accidentally-on-purpose dropped a beaker. It clattered to the floor, and I dove down to retrieve it, making sure that I was between James' legs.

I thought he would freeze up at the sight of me between his legs, where he so obviously wanted me to be, but he didn't. Instead, he scooted his chair back. A moment later, his pencil dropped to the floor, and he got down on his hands and knees, going under the table with me.

I grabbed a hold of the beaker, but before I could crawl out from under the table, he grabbed my arm and dragged me to him. His lips barely brushed my ear as he whispered, "I'll do what I have to in order to protect Shane. Even if that means getting you wet. No one goes after my brother and gets away with it, got it?"

I wordlessly nodded.

"Good. New body wash? You smell like vanilla and strawberries. Smells good." With a smirk, he pulled back, and straightened out, getting to his feet. I joined him, just as Ms. Straumner looked over at us with a suspicious look.

"We just dropped a couple of things," James assured her, waving his pencil around, and she nodded curtly, still not dropping the suspicious expression.

I nodded in agreement to what James had said. "He dropped his pencil and I dropped one of our beakers. Don't worry, it was empty." I smoothed out my skirt and sat down in my chair. James plopped down in his, and scooted it forward.

There was no longer any doubt in my mind that Shane was gay, considering what James had just said to me. But I was also a little scared. I was wondering if I had finally just pushed James too far. I kept my hands to myself through the rest of the class, and I didn't tease him at all during lunch.

"Hey, Katie," Kyle said to me halfway through our lunch period, "can I borrow your iPod? There's a song on it that I'm thinking of using for my new routine, but I haven't downloaded it yet."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. It's in my locker."

"Okay, thanks." We got to our feet, said bye to the others, and headed out into the hall. I got my iPod out of my locker and handed it to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks. So, you've been really quiet," he commented.

I sighed. "It's just been a weird day."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed again. "I tried to manipulate James into talking Shane into going out with you, but he finally laid down the line."

Kyle began sputtering. "You – what – why – what the hell, Katie?!"

"Well, you like Shane, and I think he likes you too, and James won't give me a direct answer as to whether or not Shane's gay, so he probably is. I just want you to be happy," I added in a small voice, hoping Kyle wasn't too mad at me. I hated when he was mad at me.

He sighed. "That wasn't the way to do it, Katie. I'd rather find out if Shane likes me by myself. Besides, if we started dating, we might have to come out to the world. I'm not openly gay, and I don't think Shane is either. Once we do come out, it won't be pretty."

"Oh."

"I know you meant well, but you put us all in a really difficult situation. Especially James."

"I know…"

"It's either keep getting manipulated by you, or else betray his brother. Katie, there are consequences to what you do."

"I know that too…"

"Do you? Do you really?"

"Yes! I just – I just didn't think it all out, okay? Look, I'll stop teasing him. Okay?"

"Okay."

There was a pause, and then he asked me, "Are you going to the dance?"

I shrugged. "Probably. Why?"

"Is Shane going…?"

I grinned. "I believe he is, as a matter of fact. Are you?"

"I think I just found a reason to go. What about James?"

I shook my head.

"Oh. Bummer."

"Not really."

He smirked. "You'll miss him if he doesn't go to the dance. You like him."

"I don't like him! He's annoying! Irritating! A cocky, arrogant ass!"

"And what're you? The tooth fairy?"

I glared at him. "That's not the point – "

"Actually, it is. You two are perfect for each other. You're both stubborn as hell, and fighters, and you drive each other crazy, but you also want each other. How have you been teasing him?"

I sniffed and walked past him. "None of your business."

"That's why you were messing with your spoon!"

"Hmmph."

Kyle cracked up. "My best friend the tease."

"Shut up."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"So wait – " Shane's voice came from around the corner. "You actually did that? Really?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" I heard James demand. "Besides, you know she deserved it."

"Dude, you two so want each other."

"We do n – " James broke off as he and Shane rounded the corner, coming face to face with Kyle and me.

There was a long, awkward pause, and then Kyle spoke up to James and me: "You two are in such denial."

"We are not," we said together.

Shane smirked. "You are. You liiiiike each other," he sang.

"Shut up," James told him.

"You waaaant him," Kyle teased me.

"Be quiet," I snapped.

"You want each other," Shane grinned.

"If you don't shut up – " James began to threaten.

"Can't you just admit it?" Kyle smirked.

"I will kick your ass," I snarled at him.

"Ah, young love," Shane said to Kyle, coming over to stand beside him.

"Isn't it precious?" Kyle added.

"I could cry."

"I just want to cuddle them both!"

James and I glared at them, before I turned to him. "We need to go to the library. You said you'd help me review for the test."

He nodded. "Let's go."

We walked off together, both of us grumbling under our breath.

At last I said, "I don't care what they say about us. They're so obvious. They want each other. Just admit it, you know it's true."

James zipped his lips shut.

"So you still won't admit that your brother's gay? Are you ashamed or something?"

He glowered heavily at me. "Whether he is or isn't, I don't have a problem with it."

"Then why won't you admit it?"

"Because it's none of your fucking business!"

"My best friend is gay! He likes your brother! I think it's my business!"

"It's not your business if they're not dating! And they're not!"

"But they would be if you weren't such a stubborn ass!"

"How do you know? They might not even get along!"

"You know they will. Look at how they ganged up on us!"

James let out a long breath. "I told you, Shane has his reasons for not dating. Just drop it, Katie." And with those words, he walked into the library.

I followed him, grinding my teeth. That boy was so stubborn. He drove me nuts. And his hair looked really soft.

We managed to get through study hall without any more fights. As we packed up, I looked over at him. "Are you going to the dance?"

He shrugged. "Shane wants me to go. And the guys are going, so I might. How about you?"

"Yeah. My friends are going, so…"

"Cool." He slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Ready for the test?"

I snorted. "Not in the least."

"You'll do great. You've really improved."

"I have?" I asked, almost sounding shy.

He nodded. "You really have. You're a fast learning."

I felt my face break out into a smile. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "You're welcome."

Somehow, I managed to survive the test. It was actually a lot easier than what I had thought it would be, and I realized that James was right – I _had_ improved.

James was the first one finished. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he walked up to Mrs. Waddleburger's desk and handed her his test paper. She gave it a quick glance and smiled at him. He smiled back, snatched up his stuff, and walked out of the room.

I finished not too long after, and headed up to her desk too. I passed her my paper and she looked it over. She smiled at me too. "Looks like you've come a long way already."

"Thanks." I grabbed my backpack and headed out of the classroom.

James was waiting for me in the hall. "So, how do you think you did?"

"I think I did pretty good," I answered with a smile. "You?"

"Same."

"Yeah, I bet. You probably got an A++."

He laughed. "Do they even have that grade?"

"No idea. Ask Logan."

He chuckled.

We walked down the hall together, and reached our lockers. We opened them up and transferred what we needed.

"Do you have hockey practice?" I asked him as we slung our backpacks over our shoulders again and closed our locker doors.

He nodded. "And…you're still not ice skating?"

I shook my head.

"That sucks. Do you miss it?"

"So much." I sighed. "I love it. It's like trying to live without music."

He nodded in understanding. "I can only imagine."

I sighed again. "Well, have fun at hockey practice. Don't get anymore brain damage."

"I'll do my best."

I nodded, and began walking away.

"Hey…Katie?" he called after me.

I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Do you…do you want to go to the dance with me tomorrow night?"

I stared at him for a good twenty seconds, before starting to laugh. "James, you know I don't go out with hockey heads. No way in hell. Nice try though." I waved at him, and ignoring the slightly hurt look on his face, I headed off. As I got into my car, however, the wounded look in his eyes flashed in front of me, and I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably. No matter what I said or did, I wanted to go with him. I really did. But I couldn't. I refused to.

* * *

**James' POV**

I did my best to put Katie's rejection out of my head for the rest of the day. I didn't need to think of the way she had turned me down. But in all honesty, it didn't do much good. _You know I don't go out with hockey heads. No way in hell._

_No way in hell…_

I struck at the puck forcefully, sending it flying across the ice, right into the net.

"Holy crap!" Kendall cheered. "Nice one, James!"

I barely acknowledged him. I had all but turned this hockey practice completely brutal. I was taking out all of my frustration, hurt, and anger on the puck and anyone who got in the way.

By the time practice ended, we were all battered, beaten, and sore, more than ready for a hot bath. I didn't say much as we showered and got dressed, and it didn't really matter, because everyone else was too busy yapping around me.

I drove Shane and me home, barely speaking, and the second I was inside, I hurried upstairs to collapse on my bed.

_I don't go out with hockey heads…_

Bitch.

The word rocked through my head with the force of a train. So she could flirt and tease one, but she couldn't go out with one? What a fucking bitch.

"James?" Shane came into my room around six-o-clock. "Mom says dinner will be ready soon."

"'Kay."

"Are you okay?"

I shrugged, and rolled over to face away from him.

"James? What happened with Katie?"

"She's a bitch."

"We already knew that."

"I asked her to the dance." My voice caught a little. "And she turned me down. She said she doesn't date hockey heads, no way in hell, and nice try."

"Oh…"

"She doesn't want to go out with me."

"I'm sure she does…"

"She doesn't."

"James…"

"Go away. Please?"

Shane sighed sadly. "Okay. I'm sorry, James. I'm really, really sorry."

I didn't say anything to that. A moment later, my bedroom door closed softly.

I curled up, burying my face in my pillow. I couldn't believe it was affecting me like this. I'd only asked her to the dance on a spur of the moment. I hadn't been prepping myself for it for the past week or whatever. I didn't even like her. And yet…her rejection had hurt. It was her saying that I wasn't good enough to go out with her, that I wasn't worth her time.

Bitch.

It began to get dark soon after that, but I didn't bother to turn on a light.

Around eight-o-clock, my mom knocked on my door. "Jamie? Sweetie? Can I come in?"

I let out a muffled grunt, which she must have taken as a yes, because she walked into my room.

I didn't roll over to face her, but she sat down on the edge of my bed, and began rubbing my back. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry she can't see how much better off she would be with you."

I sighed and turned over to face her. "I don't get why she hates hockey players so much."

"I don't know. Maybe she's angry with her brother for something, and disliking hockey is just an excuse. It could be anything. I'm just sorry it's the reason she turned you down."

"I don't even like her."

"Yes you do. You just don't want to admit it. Shane says neither you nor Katie will admit that you like each other. You're both so stubborn." She sighed, and pulled me into her arms.

"Mom, I'm too big for this," I protested as she tried to arrange me so that I could sit on her lap.

"You're still my baby. Well, my older baby."

I sighed and rested my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes as she gently stroked my hair. "You'll feel better once the sting passes."

"I hope so."

"You will. Trust me." She kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Jamie."

"Love you too, Mom." I crawled out of her lap and plopped down on my bed again.

"Are you still going to the dance tomorrow?" she asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I promised the guys I'd go."

"Okay. Shane's excited, especially since he found out that Kyle's going to be there."

I chuckled. "Of course."

"Of course."

"Is there any food left?"

She smiled. "As a matter of fact, there is. Come on down, I'll heat you up a plate."

"Thanks." We got up, and headed downstairs.

I was not looking forward to the dance. I was expecting to have to watch Katie dancing and flirting with other boys all night long, while I sat in a corner with Shane and sulked.

Nevertheless, I got ready to go and at seven-thirty, drove down to the high school with Shane. We headed into the gym, which had been decorated with orange and black streamers and lights. Tables had been set up, covered in orange and black tablecloths, and cut-out ghosts decorated the walls.

There was the option of going to the dance in costume, and in fact there were quite a few students who had opted for this, but since the guys and I hadn't felt like dressing up as the Wicked Witch of the West or as the Three Musketeers, we had gone with regular suits.

The guys had already scouted out a table by the time Shane and I walked in, and they waved us over.

We joined them. "Hey," Shane said brightly as we sat down. "How's the dance been so far?"

"Boring," Kendall grumbled. "I can't believe I let Carlos drag me here."

"You and me both," Logan agreed. "I've been watching Camille flirt with that football player. Hmmph. She should be flirting with a hockey player – _this_ hockey player!"

We all smirked at him.

"So go ask her to dance," Kendall suggested.

"What? I can't do that!"

"Yes you can."

"No I can't! What if she turns me down?"

"She won't do that. She likes you."

"But – "

"Hey, Camille!" Kendall called, flagging her over.

Logan's eyes widened and he began spluttering.

She walked over. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Logan wants to dance with you."

Logan began to dry choke.

Camille's face lit up. "Really? Well, come on, Logie!" She grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. For a small girl, she seemed to be surprisingly strong. She dragged him out onto the dance floor.

We all laughed and shook our heads.

"Our little Logie is growing up," Kendall grinned, but the grin slid off his face when he caught sight of Jo Taylor dancing with a basketball player.

Carlos didn't look too thrilled either – Stephanie King was dancing with Jett Stetson.

I looked around the room and found Katie dancing with a football player. I sighed, feeling like my heart was breaking slightly.

Shane looked at me sympathetically but didn't say anything.

After about twenty seconds of watching her dancing with someone else, I got to my feet and walked over to the refreshment table. I got a cup of punch and was just about to buy one of the sugar cookies, when I heard Katie say, "I wouldn't recommend it. The cookies are crap this year."

I spun around to face her. "You think a lot of things are crap. And sometimes they're not."

She smiled slightly. "Touché."

I nodded and moved past her.

"James…"

"I'll see you later." I couldn't be around her, not then.

"But – "

"Bye." Watching her dance with someone else had seriously pissed me off, and knowing that she was trying to act like she hadn't completely blown me off just added to it.

Before I could reach my friends, however, Coach Billings intercepted me.

"Can I talk to you really quickly?" he asked me, and I nodded, surprised. I hadn't even known he was here tonight.

He led me out of the gym, down the hall to his office, and we stepped in.

"Take a seat, Diamond," he told me, and I did so.

"So, I've gotten a lot of people commenting on our school hockey blog," he informed me.

I frowned. "Um…okay…"

"From people at your old school, and at other schools as well. They seem to be under the impression that your brother's gay."

My stomach dropped.

"Now, it's normally none of my business if he is, but they're taking up room on the blog, and they're threatening him and his brother, which would be you."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I – I'm sorry."

"Why? You have nothing to be sorry for. These people are bullies. The only reason why I'm telling you is to warn you, to let you know that there are people out there who will be out to get you and Shane."

"I already know there are."

He leaned back in his chair, watching me.

"At our old school – the bullying got pretty bad. Shane was constantly harassed and abused. He got called really horrible things in school. People would text him and e-mail him threats. They'd prank call him. He'd get beaten up almost every day. He was only fourteen, he didn't know what to do. Eventually, I just had to say enough, and I went after the bullies."

"Well, you weren't kicked out, but it was suggested that you left Shakopee High," Coach Billings put in, and I nodded.

"That's exactly what happened. That's why we moved out here. We wanted a fresh start, somewhere where no one knew about Shane."

Coach Billings nodded. "I assume it was an accident that they found out about him?"

"It was. He used to keep a diary, and one day someone stole it and they read it over the loudspeaker."

He winced. "Poor kid."

"I know."

"Well, I'll see what I can do to block these attacks."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "Please…I don't think Shane can handle something like that happening again. He's just finally recovering, getting back to his old self."

"I can see. He's opened up in the past few weeks."

"He has. Please don't let them take this away from him."

"I'll do my best," he promised. "Now, go on back out to the dance. Although you didn't look like you were having much fun."

I snorted. "I wasn't. I don't even know why I decided to come to this stupid dance. The girl I asked rejected me pretty coldly."

"Gee, you didn't by any chance ask Katie Knight, did you?" Coach Billings asked, raising an eyebrow and looking almost amused.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

He pursed his lips. "That girl…" he shook his head. "I don't even know what there is to say about her. She was shaped by her coach, Sarah Redford. Sarah taught her to manipulate and use people to get what she wants, because that's what Sarah does."

"Ah."

"Yeah, her coach is a piece of work. And once she finds out about Shane…believe me, she'll use it to her advantage."

"Katie's already tried."

Coach Billings winced. "I see. You may need to back away from her…"

"I'm tutoring her."

"That makes it a little hard."

"It does," I agreed.

He sighed. "I don't know what else to tell you, Diamond. Just be careful."

"I will. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome."

I got to my feet and walked out of his office.

I turned the corner and almost ran into Katie. I could tell by the way that her eyes were shifting back and forth that she had most likely followed me to Coach Billing's office, and had then listened to our conversation.

I rolled my eyes and pushed past her.

"James – wait!"

"Leave me alone."

She ran after me, high heels clicking against the floor, deep blue evening dress rustling with every step. "I didn't – I didn't know – "

"What? That if I did what you wanted me to you'd accidentally start a massacre?"

"I – yeah…I'm sorry. Look, Kyle's not openly gay either. He doesn't want everyone to know. I didn't realize until I talked to him today how much damage I could do by trying to push him and Shane together. I just wanted him to be happy, you know? He's been my best friend since third grade. He's stuck through everything with me, no matter what."

"I get that. I do. But you don't think how it's going to affect everyone else, Katie. You didn't think about what you might be doing to Shane, and you didn't think about the impact you would have on me."

"I know, and I'm sorry. James…Look, I know I'm a bitch and a brat, but I never meant to hurt Shane, not like that. It didn't even occur to me that he'd been bullied before, although I guess when you kept saying that stuff about protecting him, it should've been obvious."

I didn't say anything to that. I just began walking back towards the gym.

"James," she desperately said, "I'm so sorry. I honestly, truly am. I'm apologizing, and I don't like apologizing. I almost never do it."

"Then why are you?" I whirled around to face her.

"Because I screwed up by trying to get you to get Shane to go out with Kyle."

"Fine. I forgive you for that."

"And what I did to you, trying to manipulate you like that, that was pretty awful too."

"Please. You just wanted an excuse to touch me and tease me. That's all you wanted, Katie."

She remained quiet.

"We're done here," I finally said.

"James," she pleaded. "Can't you forgive me for that too?"

"Yeah, you know, I could, except that you didn't follow through."

"Excuse me?"

"I asked you to go to the dance with me, and you said no way in hell."

"I don't date hockey players."

"Yeah, you've said that. I simply asked you to the dance. You didn't have to add _no way in hell_ to it."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then you shouldn't have asked me."

"Why won't you date hockey players?" I demanded.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I don't like the sport! Because I've been around it all my life! My dad was a hockey player! My mom was a cheerleader. And I've seen what kind of accidents happen! My dad hurt his knee and he hasn't been able to walk right since! It's part of why he and Mom divorced, because she couldn't give him what hockey could. When I was thirteen, Kendall got a concussion during a game! He was in the hospital for a week. So yeah, forgive me if I don't worship hockey. I've seen too many bad things come from it. I'm not going to let someone I care about get hurt like that."

I nodded. I actually understood her reasoning for it. "I get it."

"Do you really?" She looked skeptical.

"I do."

"So…I'm sorry, but this…whatever it is that we have, it's never going to happen, unless you suddenly decide to quit hockey, and somehow I don't think that's going to happen."

I shook my head. "Probably not."

She sighed. "I shouldn't like you. I really shouldn't. You drive me nuts. But there's just something about you. I think it's because you challenge me in a way that no one ever has before. You don't put up with my shit." She paused, and then added, "Not that I like you, like you. I mean, I just like you…as a friend…"

"Yeah, I figured. I don't even know why I asked you to the dance. I wasn't going to. I didn't even want to go. And can you imagine us on a date?" The idea really was pretty ludicrous. I really had no idea what I'd been thinking. At this point, it didn't even make any sense as to why I'd been upset that she had turned me down.

She laughed. "Completely disastrous. Yeah, I don't know what Kyle and Shane were talking about yesterday. We don't like each other. We'd kill each other."

"Exactly. I mean, on our best day, we can't stand each other."

"They just got into your head, it's why you asked me to the dance."

"Right. That must be it."

She nodded. "Well…"

"Well…"

"You did ask me to the dance…"

"Uh huh…"

"So how about we dance. Just one dance?"

I paused, before nodding. "Okay. Let's give it a try."

She grinned and took my hand. What felt like an electric shock raced through my entire body, and by the way her eyes widened, I knew she felt it too. But neither of us said anything, much less acknowledged it. Instead, we just headed back into the gym.

A slow pop song was playing as we entered. Once we were on the dance floor, we turned to face each other. I wrapped my arms around Katie's waist, and she winded hers around my neck. I felt a smile tug at my lips, and she smiled back. Who knows? Maybe there was a chance for us after all…

We didn't speak during the dance, but when the song ended, we stayed where we were.

We danced for the rest of the night, and by the time the last song was playing, there was no doubt about it: No matter what we said or did, we definitely liked each other a little more than what we wanted to admit.

* * *

_**So. Much. Happening! What'd you guys think? Were you able to follow it? I had trouble following it, and I'm the one who's writing it! So if it went by too fast in some places, or didn't make a lot of sense, I'm really sorry. I wrote this chapter in a complete blur (and it wasn't even last minute) so if it's not that good, that might be why.**_

_**Anyway, make the review button very happy and let me know what you think!**_

_**One more thing: I tweeted about this, but for those of you who aren't following me, on the JatieFantasy profile (for those of you who don't know, JatieFantasy is Jatieluv's and my joint account) is a poll to decide which story we should post next. So if you like our stories, head on over and vote :)**_


	9. Chapter 9: The Birthday Maker

**_Whoo hoo! Another update for Break the Ice! I wanted to get this chapter up last week, but Touch the Flame kind of took over, so it didn't happen. But here it is now_ :)**

**_Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Big. Time. Rush. There you go._  
**

**_BTR: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it!_**

**_Guest: Thank you very much! You're very sweet (and polite!) :)_**

**_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read this story! I love you guys so much! You're the ones who push me to write, so thank you so, so much!_**

**_So, I gave Katie and Kendall Kendall Schmidt's real birthday - November 2nd. Happy belated birthday, Kendall!_**

**_Oh, and if this chapter seems a little choppy or doesn't seem consistent, I'm really sorry. I tried to make it as smooth and consistent as I could, but I might not have done it right. :(_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: The Birthday Maker**

**James' POV**

"So," Kendall said on Monday morning as he leaned up against my locker, "Friday's my seventeenth birthday."

"Cool. Awesome. I'll be more enthusiastic when I can close my locker door."

"Right, sorry." He moved and I slammed my door closed.

"So, you're turning seventeen! That's awesome!"

"Right? I can't wait!"

"What're you planning to do for it?" I asked him as we headed towards homeroom.

"I'm going to have a party on Saturday evening. I have no idea what Katie's doing for it though."

I'd almost forgotten that they were twins…

"Maybe she's having a party too?"

"Nah, I doubt it. She doesn't like parties. Says they make her claustrophobic. She'll probably just go out to dinner with a couple of friends."

"Ah. Sounds fun."

Kendall shrugged. "I guess as long as it's what she wants."

I nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't know what happened with you two on Saturday night, but she actually texted me yesterday to ask me how things were going. She hasn't done that in ages."

I smiled. "That's good."

"It is. I hope things get better between us. I miss my sister."

"I can imagine." We reached homeroom and took our seats. Logan was already there, waiting for us.

"So, how'd things go with you and Camille?" I asked him.

He blushed. "Well…we might hang out at some point…"

I grinned. "Sounds like a good start."

"I hope so." He blushed even more.

We were back to playing volleyball in PE. When Mr. Langly announced this, both Carlos and I exchanged nervous looks. Neither of us could forget when Katie and Stephanie had the football team pelt us with balls.

However, this time Katie and Stephanie both moved over to our side.

"What're you doing over here?" I asked them.

Stephanie shrugged. "We needed a change of scenery. Plus, you guys are better looking than the football team hulks."

Carlos beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're actually pretty cute."

He blushed bright red.

Katie and I grinned at each other.

"Young love," she laughed.

"So adorable."

Needless to say, PE went much better than it had in the previous weeks. Carlos and I both managed to enjoy it immensely, and by the time the class ended, with our team winning, Katie, Stephanie, Carlos, and I were all howling with laughter.

"Oh man, that was fun," Carlos grinned as we headed into the boys' locker room. "And I think Stephanie likes me."

I grinned back. "It was, and I think you're right."

"Think she'd go out with me?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask her, right?"

He shook his head. "Nope! And to think, before today, she's never said more than two words to me!"

I chuckled. "Good luck, dude."

"Thanks!"

We showered and dressed, and then headed to Chemistry.

I slid into the chair beside Katie's, and she gave me a small smile.

"So, what're you doing for your birthday?" I asked her, nudging her foot with mine.

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it."

"But it's your birthday!"

"So?"

"It's your birthday!" I repeated.

"I probably won't do anything for it. Kendall's the one with all the friends. I mean, Kyle and the girls will probably drag me out to the movies or something, but it won't be any fun."

"Why not?" I wanted to know.

She shrugged. "I can't have popcorn, and that's one of the best parts."

I blinked. "Why can't you have popcorn?"

"Sarah – my coach – put me on a diet to make sure I don't gain too much weight before I start skating again. Movie theater popcorn has butter and salt and it's really fattening, so it's a definite no-no."

"What about birthday cake? Can you have that?"

Katie snorted. "Maybe one bite."

I frowned. "That's really unfair. I mean, it's only one day…"

"That's Sarah for you. One day of pigging out and I'll gain ten pounds."

"That's nuts."

"That's Sarah."

I shook my head. "You should be able to have a real birthday."

"Well, I won't. Mom wants to spend Kendall's birthday with him, and Dad won't be home, so I'm going to be home alone."

"What about Kyle and the others?"

"I think Camille's going to try to go out with Logan that day, and Jo's going to be out of town, and Stephanie's got a family thing."

"And Kyle?"

"He and Shane are actually going to hang out that day. He just texted me and told me and apologized."

"He and Shane are hanging out?" I grinned. "Now that sounds promising."

"It does, which is why I can't be mad at him."

Class started a couple minutes later, and we got to work. It took about five minutes before the flirting/teasing began.

At one point, she leaned over so that she could read from my textbook, giving me a fantastic view down her shirt. There was absolutely no point in her reading from my textbook, because hers was open in front of her.

But I didn't question her motives.

At another point, I dropped my eraser on the space of chair between her legs, and reached down to grab it, making sure to brush her thigh while I was at it.

It was really too bad she didn't date hockey players, because the guys were right – we had a ton of sexual chemistry.

At one point I glanced over at Kendall and Carlos and saw that Kendall had built a wall of books at the end of their table so that he couldn't see Katie and me.

I grinned. I guess we had all accepted since Saturday night that Katie's and my relationship was strictly sexual tension.

Chemistry class went smoothly, and we all headed off to the cafeteria for lunch.

"So, how'd chem. go?" Logan asked as we all sat down together at our usual table.

"Pretty well. Katie and I seemed to have reached some sort of understanding."

"Oh?" Shane raised an eyebrow at me. "What sort of understanding?"

"The kind where they flirt shamelessly and try to turn each other on, but then don't date," Carlos answered him.

"Sounds fun…"

I shrugged. "It's not so bad."

"For now," Logan said. "But what happens when it's no longer enough for either of you?"

"Then we deal with what happens."

He shook his head, but didn't say anything else.

Study hall was the same as always. It was the one place that Katie and I kept things strictly platonic. It was generally a nice reprieve, although today it felt like it was slowly pushing me towards the Crazyville train station. There was too much left unsaid between us, and neither of us were stepping forward to say what needed to be said.

"Maybe I'll come watch practice today," Katie said we walked towards Mrs. Wattburgon's classroom.

I looked at her questioningly. "Ice skating practice?"

She shook her head. "I don't know if I'm even allowed in during practice. I meant hockey."

"Kendall will like that," I told her. "He misses you."

She twisted her hair around her finger, but didn't say anything.

Despite what she said, I really didn't expect Katie to show up at hockey practice. I figured she'd change her mind at the last minute and just head home. So needless to say, it was quite the shock when I skated out onto the rink and happened to glance at the stands and caught sight of Katie, bundled up in her jacket. She gave me a small smile as our eyes met, and I gave her one in return.

"Katie's here?" Kendall looked about ready to faint in shock.

I nodded. "She is. I think she came to see you practice."

He snorted. "I really doubt that. If she came to watch anyone practice, it's you."

I shook my head. "She doesn't like me enough. It was you she came to watch. You're her twin brother."

"That doesn't mean anything. It's not like we get along."

"Doesn't mean she doesn't love you or care about you," I replied, thinking about what Katie had told me on Saturday night.

He shrugged, obviously not really believing me. "Whatever. Come on, we need to practice that new play that Logan suggested."

It was after five by the time we trudged off the ice to the locker room.

We showered and changed into our regular clothes, and headed out. Katie smiled at Shane and me as we came out.

"Congratulations on your date with Kyle," she said to him.

Shane immediately blushed. "It's not – it's not a date…We're just hanging out…"

"Mmm hmm. Sure."

"We are! It's perfectly innocent!"

"Sure. That's what they all say." She winked at him.

He stuttered out a bunch of unintelligible words, and I waved at Katie, before dragging him out to the parking lot.

Once we were in my car, I turned to face him. "So…you and Kyle." I wagged my eyebrows at him. He blushed bright red.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Where're you two going?"

"I – I think we're just going to go to _Fun Burger_…"

"Fun."

"And innocent," he added pointedly.

"Of course."

He leaned back in his seat, smiling a little. It was nice to see him so happy. I hadn't seen him look this relaxed and comfortable in over a year.

"Do you want me to drive you to _Fun Burger_?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Kyle and I are going to head out after hockey and ice skating practice."

"Ah." At the mention of ice skating, my mind went to Katie. It wasn't fair that she was going to be spending her birthday by herself. She deserved to at least have someone there with her. I mean, it's not every day you turn seventeen, you know?

I bit my lip as I drove through town, not saying anything.

As we entered our neighborhood, Shane looked over at me. "You've been pretty quiet. Thinking about something?"

I nodded. "Katie's birthday."

"Oh."

"I want to do something for it. And I have an idea…"

"That's great!"

"Yeah…I just don't know if I'll be able to…But I'm going to try," I added determinedly.

"Good for you."

"But I'm going to need your help…and Camille's and Kyle's…"

"Why their help?"

"Because they're the only ice skaters who'll talk to me civilly."

* * *

**Katie's POV**

The rest of the week passed quietly. James and I continued our pointless flirting, he continued to help me with English, and he didn't mention my birthday again.

On Saturday, Kendall was having his birthday party. He had asked me if I wanted to come and bring my friends with me, but I almost laughed in his face at the idea. We hadn't shared a birthday party together since we were ten. And there was no way in hell my friends were going to go to a party dominated by hockey players.

Camille, Stephanie, Jo, and Kyle were planning on taking me out on Saturday to go shopping, and maybe get some frozen yogurt, which was actually kind of pointless since I had it almost every day for lunch, but it was the only kind of dessert that Sarah was allowing me to eat. Kyle had suggested we go out for sushi, but we hadn't actually agreed on that yet.

Eventually, Friday morning reached us. The second I stepped up to my locker, I was grabbed from behind and spun around in a circle.

"Happy birthday, Katie-Bear!" James grinned once he had set me down.

Generally I really hate being manhandled, but when James did it, I somehow didn't mind.

I smiled back at him. "Thanks."

He grabbed me in a huge bear hug, cuddling me to him. I was suddenly reminded how much bigger he was than me. He was practically a giant compared to me. Somehow, instead of making me feel like a midget, it made me feel safe and comfortable, like I could depend on him. It was a nice feeling, warm and secure, like being tucked into your bed on a cold, winter night.

I hugged James back, smiling widely. I could definitely get used to this.

He pulled back, smiling back at me. "So, do you have any plans for after school?"

I shook my head. "I was just going to go home."

"Well, you have plans now."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yep."

"And what exactly would they be, Mr. Diamond?"

"You'll find out." With those words, he headed off towards homeroom, leaving me staring after him.

"Hey, K," Camille came up from behind me. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just…James is being all weird and mysterious."

She chuckled. "What else is new?"

"Good point."

Camille slung her arm around my shoulder. "Come on, let's get to class."

"Okay." We headed to homeroom.

We slugged through our morning classes. Math was brutal as usual, though PE and Chemistry weren't so bad now that James and I were actually acting civil (maybe more than civil) towards each other. In fact, both classes were actually a lot of fun now. Him, Carlos, Stephanie, and I dominated PE, and James and I messed around in Chemistry. And now that we weren't fighting the entire class period, our grade already seemed to be improving.

At lunch, we sat at our different tables, but occasionally we'd glance at the other, like we were checking to see what the other person was doing.

Lunch went by slowly. Camille and Kyle were both yammering away, and Stephanie was occasionally joining in, but Jo and Jett were both pretty sullen. Talk about buzz kills.

About five minutes earlier than usual, I spotted James getting up, and leaving the cafeteria. I frowned, wondering where he was going.

I left soon after that, making a quick trip to the restroom, before heading to the library.

When I reached it, James was already sprawled out at our usual table. He smiled at me as I approached.

"Hey," I greeted him as I sat down, pulling out my books.

"Hey."

"So, what's on the itinerary for today, tutor?"

"We-ell…I figured since today's your birthday, we'd just do a review, give your head a bit of a rest."

"Oooh, have I mentioned lately how much I like your thinking?" I grinned.

He grinned back. "Nope. So please, do enlighten me."

I chuckled. "I love your thinking. I'm in love with it. If I could, I would marry it."

"It'll be picking out an engagement ring for you."

I laughed again, but blushed a little, as the mental image of _James_ picking out an engagement ring for _me_ popped into my head. Oh my gosh…

No! Bad Katie! Very bad Katie!

James helped me to review the past week's material, and within a half an hour, we were finished.

"Nice job," he told me. "I'm proud of you."

I beamed. "Really?"

He nodded, smiling back. "Aaaaannnd…" he drew the word out, "I have something for you."

I'm pretty sure my entire face lit up. "A present?"

"Of sorts," he chuckled, reaching into his backpack and pulling out one of those insulated lunch boxes that you can carry cold stuff around in. I eyed it curiously.

"You got me a lunchbox?"

He shook his head and unzipped it, lifting the lid. He reached in, and pulled out a small tray of chocolate cupcakes, complete with chocolate frosting and sprinkles, and a Tupperware dish of Oreo ice cream mixed in with chocolate. My two favorites…

My eyes widened. "How – ?"

He shrugged. "I asked the school cooks if I could keep the cupcakes in the fridge and the ice cream in the freezer, and they were fine with it. I figured you should at least get cake and ice cream on your birthday."

"But – Sarah – "

"Fuck Sarah. It's your birthday. For this one day, she doesn't control you." He pried one of the cupcakes from the tray and passed it to me, before retrieving a plastic spoon from inside the lunchbox and a napkin. He handed both to me, along with the ice cream.

I bit my lip. It all looked so amazing…

"Sorry there aren't any candles," he added apologetically. "I wanted to, but apparently the sprinkler system is really sensitive anywhere that isn't the chemistry lab."

I nodded. "It is. It's a good way to bust smokers."

"I bet. So…" he clapped his hands. "Dig in. And happy birthday, Katie-Bear."

I felt my face break out into a huge smile, before unwrapping the cupcake and taking a bite of it. Oh my gosh…amazing…

"Who made this?" I asked him.

He blushed a little. "Me. Well, Shane helped. You know, in-between making smartass comments about what you and I could do with the frosting instead."

I blushed too. Yeah, he and Kyle were going to be perfect for each other…

"Needless to say, I didn't let him touch the frosting after he suggested I lick it from – you know what? It's not important." His face was bright red now, and, I'll admit it, it was pretty adorable.

I laughed. "He sounds like Kyle. You don't even want to know what Kyle suggested I do with my tongue instead of using it to eat frozen yogurt."

"Yeah, Shane and Kyle are a match made in heaven – or hell. Take your pick."

I laughed even harder, before opening the container of ice cream.

"You know, I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to eat in the library."

"Oh, we're not. But in case you haven't noticed, Mrs. Muller is never around. She's too busy flirting with Mr. Clausenheimer, who has his lunch period this hour."

My jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh…gross! Are they sleeping together?"

He shrugged as he snagged one of the cupcakes from the tray. "Beats the hell out of me. But I'm pretty sure she's not wearing those '60 retro mico-miniskirts for a flashback party, you know?"

I gagged. "Thank you so much. Now I'm going to have nightmares."

He laughed. "My bad."

I pouted at him, before taking a bite of ice cream. "Who told you I love chocolate and Oreo mixed together?"

"Camille," he answered. "I hit her and Kyle up about your favorites."

"That – wow. That's really sweet. Thank you." I was beyond touched. I couldn't believe someone would go through all this trouble to make my birthday worthwhile, especially considering the way I had treated him previously, with the dodgeball attack, and teasing him, and turning down his invitation to go to the dance so coldly.

Who would do something like that, less than a week after you've buried the hatchet with someone?

Apparently James Diamond. But it still didn't make any sense to me. I mean, maybe it would if he had a crush on me but…no. He couldn't. He didn't. He knew I wouldn't date him, and he wasn't going to quit hockey. We were friends, just friends, who, okay, maybe had a lot of sexual tension. But there was nothing more to it. That was all. The end. Goodbye.

"Do you want a bite?" I asked him, indicating my ice cream. "It's _really_ good…" I waved the spoon in front of his face tantalizingly.

"Well…maybe just one."

I grinned, dipped the spoon in the ice cream, and managed to make a hole in one right into his mouth. He licked the ice cream off, eyes flickering to mine.

"Good?" I asked as I pulled the spoon out of his mouth.

"Very good."

I grinned. "Good."

Once we were finished with the cupcakes and ice cream, we cleaned up and hurried out of the library, towards the English classroom.

"Thanks again," I said to him as we walked through the classroom door. "Seriously, you're incredible."

He smiled at me. "I don't know about incredible. Maybe I'm just a nice guy."

"Yeah…maybe you are." I smiled back, before heading over to my desk to take my seat.

"So," Mrs. Waddleburger said as she walked into the room five minutes later, just as the bell rang, "I finally got around to grading your tests. And I have to say, I was very pleased with the way most of them turned out." She smiled at us, but I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Oh no…here we go…I knew I had thought I had aced the test last week, but now I wasn't so sure. I had probably screwed up and gotten _alliteration_ and _allusion_ mixed up, or miss-analyzed sadness as horror or something.

Why did she have to choose today of all days to hand our tests back?!

Across the room, James gave me an encouraging smile, but I had the very uncomfortable feeling that I might just end up vomiting up the cake and ice cream.

Mrs. Waddleburger began to hand the tests back, doing the finger-lick thing with each one. Gross. Wasn't it bad enough that she was touching the tests? Did she have to get her saliva on them as well?

At last, she reached me. She passed me my paper and smiled at me, and I nervously looked down at it.

Holy crap.

I had gotten a B+.

My face broke out into a relieved smile, and I looked across the room, to where James was looking at his paper, his expression satisfied. He glanced at me, and I grinned at him, giving him the double thumbs up.

He grinned back and mouthed "Congratulations!"

I settled back in my seat, deciding that even if nothing good happened for the rest of the day, I would be happy.

"So," James said to me as he caught up with me as we headed out of the classroom. "I have one more surprise for you."

I stared at him. "Another one?"

"Yep."

"Oh man…the plans for after school…what are they?"

He grinned. "Grab your coat out of your locker. You have gloves with you?"

I nodded.

"Good. Get those too, though I doubt you'll actually need them."

"What? Why?"

He just gave me that infamously annoying smirk of his. "You'll see." And then he headed off to his own locker.

I huffed, and went down the hall. He had his locker open and was pulling stuff out of it. I opened mine as well, doing the same, and grabbed my coat and gloves as well.

Once we had finished, we shut the doors, and James beckoned his finger. "Come with me."

Together, we walked down the hall and outside, down one of the pathways. We passed by the PE building, and then stopped right outside the second, less-popular ice skating rink. It was the one that no one wanted to use, because the ice never seemed to be as smooth.

"James…?"

"Come on." He led me into the building, down the hall, and into the stands of the rink. It was dark, and completely silent.

"James…?"

And then the lights came on, and there was a loud, hollered, "SURPRISE!"

I blinked at the sudden brightness, and almost screamed in shock. Kyle, Camille, Logan, Stephanie, Carlos, and Shane were all standing on the ice, beaming at me.

"Ohmigosh…" my hands went to my mouth. "Ohmigosh…"

Camille grinned and wordlessly passed me a pair of figure skates – _my_ figure skates. I would have recognized them anywhere…

"Oh, and I also managed to snag your purple skating dress," she added to me.

"But – how – ?"

She shrugged. "Logan knows a thing or two about how to break locker combinations."

"I – it was strictly experimental!" Logan squeaked out.

Camille smirked. "Whatever you say, Logiekins."

He mumbled something unintelligible out as Camille passed me a tote bag. "Come on."

She got off the ice and led me into the girls' locker rooms.

"I can't – ohmigosh – who – how – what?" I stumbled out.

"James," she answered as I pulled my coat off and began to strip. "He thought it was really awful that you were going to be all alone on your birthday, so he got us all together."

"But – you and Logan – and Stephanie – and Kyle and Shane – I mean, they're hanging out – "

Camille shrugged. "Logan's and my date isn't until tonight. Stephanie won't be able to stay for very long, but she wanted to be here. Shane and Kyle decided to hang out a little later today. Jo couldn't come because, you know, she's going out of town to visit her dad at the military base, and yours and Kendall's mom picked him up to take him up to your uncle's, since I guess they're really close or something."

I nodded. "Uncle Jack? Yeah, they're like _this_." I crossed my index finger with my middle one and held them up.

"Ah, okay."

I finished getting dressed, and I laced up my skates. I'd probably have blisters tomorrow since it had been awhile since I had skated, but it would be worth it.

I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, and voila. I was ready.

Together, Camille and I headed back out to the rink.

James had joined the others on the ice, in regular ice skates. He was chatting with Shane and Kyle, but he looked up as I stepped out onto the ice, his eyes widening.

"Whoa…" he half-croaked out, and Shane smirked.

"Don't stare, it's not polite."

"Shut up," James snapped back at him.

"Oooh, feisty."

"I'm gonna go put the music on," Kyle announced, skating over to the sound system. A moment later, a Hilary Duff song came on, and I gasped. This had been the song I had skated my routine to when I was ten.

Kyle grinned at the look on my face. "Bringing back old memories?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

He chuckled, and did a triple axel.

"Hey, James, still remember all your old skating jumps and spins?" Shane asked James.

My eyes snapped to James. Wait – what? Old skating jumps and spins?

James nodded. "Of course."

"Well, come on! Show us!"

James grinned, and began a series of backward crossovers, before doing a perfect lutz jump.

My eyes widened. Oh, wow…Did they teach people that at hockey camp?

He kept going, doing a flip jump next, and then a toe loop. My eyes widened even more as he continued jumps, mixing some turns in there as well. He was _good_. And he didn't move like a hockey player either. He moved like a dancer, like the ice was barely there, like he was floating over it effortlessly. He was _beautiful_ out there.

At last, he finished with a flourish, and the ice rink exploded into applause. He bowed, and skated over to me.

"I had no idea hockey players could move like that," I told him.

He grinned. "Shocked?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Good shocked or bad shocked?"

"Good shocked…definitely good shocked. Where did you learn to do that?"

"Some of it I learned on my own, and some of it I learned from a skating coach. Besides, I'm from Minnesota, remember? We pretty much learn how to skate before we can walk."

"Ah. Wait – a skating coach?"

He nodded. "I did figure skating when I was younger."

I gave him a weird look. "And you moved onto hockey?"

"No, I did them both pretty much at the same time."

"But you quit figure skating?"

Before James could answer, Stephanie skated over to me. "Hey, I have to leave now. I'll text you later, okay?"

I nodded and hugged her. "I'm really glad you were able to come."

"So am I. Great party," she added to James and he smiled at her.

"Thanks."

She called bye to the others, and headed out.

"So, I want to see your skating routine," James said to me once Stephanie had departed.

I blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. From what the others have told me, you're really good."

I bit my lip. "Well…I mean, I haven't practiced it in awhile…"

"So, do the best you can," he said simply, and then called to the others to get off the rink.

Kyle started the Taylor Swift song I had chosen as my routine song – _Better Than Revenge_ –, and I took a deep breath, before skating into my routine.

I floated through my routine, feeling like I was soaring, losing all track of time.

It wasn't until I landed for the last time that my brain returned to my body. Once more, everyone cheered and clapped, and I beamed.

"So, I think she deserves a reward," James called to the others.

"Oh, definitely," Camille agreed.

James grinned at the others and he and Shane skated off the rink, disappearing down the hall.

I frowned at Camille and the guys in confusion. "Where – ?"

The lights dimmed again, and a moment later, disco lights were flashing over the rink. The music had stopped completely, and a moment later, James and Shane appeared, carrying each end of a huge rectangular cake. It was chocolate, with chocolate, green, and purple frosting, two candles, one shaped like a _1_, and the other molded into a _7_, poking through the cake.

Oh my God…

Everyone burst out singing _Happy Birthday_, and my cheeks felt like they were burning. This was _incredible_.

Once they had finished singing, Shane balanced the cake in his hands, and James pulled out a lighter. "Okay, so we have to do this fast," he grinned at me. "Because I'm pretty sure the sprinkler system is just as strong in here as in the library."

"James – "

"Make a wish," he told me as he lit the candles.

I bit my lip, before making my wish, and taking a breath, blowing out the candles.

Everyone clapped once more, and James grabbed the cake again, skating it over to the bleachers with Shane.

"Come on," Camille smiled at me, and the rest of us joined them. James cut the cake into pieces and put each piece on a paper plate.

"Who brought the cake and the plates and the forks and napkins?" I asked as James handed me a corner piece.

"Well, Stephanie and I bought the cake," Camille told me. "And Carlos and Logan brought the rest of the stuff."

"And who rented out the ice rink?" I added. "I mean, it is rented out, right?"

"Sure," James said with a shrug. "Jett Stetson reserved the other rink for today, as soon as he heard what we were planning. We invited him, and he decided to try to screw us over. So I told the office that we needed to use this rink for extra hockey practice."

"Wow…"

"Hey, I think she's speechless!" Camille crowed and the others laughed.

"I'm not speechless!" I protested. "I'm just surprised. I mean, you guys went through a lot of trouble for this."

James shrugged again. "Not too much trouble."

"Yeah…maybe…but still…"

"Don't worry about it," he advised me. "Just sit back and enjoy your cake. Oh, and we're going to the movies tonight."

I blinked at him. "Excusez-moi?"

"You and me. We're going to the movies tonight."

"No we're not."

"Yes we are. Since everyone else is busy, it's just you and me."

"Oh goody…" The movies. Just him and me. Like a date. Super.

He just flashed a grin at me, and dug into his cake, leaving me wondering just what game he was playing. Because there was no way he was doing all this just for the hell of it. There was no way.

* * *

**_So...how what'd you guys think? I'll admit, when I came up with the idea of James doing this for Katie's birthday, I literally squealed aloud at the idea, because, well, I'm a dork ;P I don't know, to me it just seemed so sweet, so I had to include it in here._**

**_Anyway, the review button would love it if you gave it some love and let me know what you think of this chapter! :)_**

**_Oh, and one more reminder - I know I did this at the end of the last chapter, but I'm bringing it up again. On the JatieFantasy profile page is a poll that'll decide which story Jatieluv and I post next. So, if you read our stories, or just happen to love Jatie, head on over and vote! :) The presidential election may be over, but the vote is still on for Jatie ;P Corny? Yes. But I had to do it ;)_**


	10. Chapter 10: Diamond Boys' Side Effects

**_Another update! Yay!_  
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**_Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. End of story._**

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**_THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read this story! I love you all so much!_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: The Diamond Boys' Side Effects**

**James' POV**

You want to know why I really set up the party for her? Why I made sure her birthday was amazing? Why I risked the sprinkler system for her? You do? Good. Because I do too.

In all honesty, I have no idea why I did what I did. I guess it's because I care about her and I wanted her to have the seventeenth birthday that she deserved. No one was really sticking around to celebrate her birthday that evening, and no one had enough balls to ignore her coach's orders about what she could or could not eat. So yeah. I did what I could to make sure that at least she wouldn't look back on her seventeenth birthday and cringe.

"So, what movie do you want to see tonight?" I asked her as we all headed out to the parking lot together.

She bit her lip. "I was thinking…maybe you could come over to my house instead of us going to the cinema. My dad's a huge movie buff, so he has an enormous selection of movies. I don't know if we have popcorn though – which is probably a good thing, since – "

I cut her off firmly. "I'll bring a box of popcorn over."

"Oh…" she looked a little uncertain. "Okay…"

"So, any movies in mind?" I asked.

"Well…yeah…" she laughed a little embarrassedly. "I haven't seen any of the _Harry Potter_ moves in ages…"

My eyes lit up. "You like _Harry Potter_?"

Katie nodded. "I love it."

"Dude, you've found your soul mate," Shane informed me, slinging an arm over my shoulders. "This guy right here is a huge Potter-head," he told Katie. "When he was younger, it was _Harry Potter_, all the time, day or night. He decided one year that he wanted to go trick-or-treating as Harry Potter on Halloween, so Mom got him a costume. He started wearing it around the house after that. He'd pop out at me and yell 'Malfoy, you slimy toad!' and then try to jinx me with his fake wand."

"It wasn't a fake wand – it was a false wand. Fake wands have rubber chickens and stuff that come out of the end," I retorted, crossing my arms. Geesh. Who the hell gets fake wands and false wands mixed up?!

Katie stared at Shane. "I feel like I don't even know you. Fake wands? Fake wands? No! Fake wands were created by the Weasley twins for their joke shop. False wands are what muggles use. I don't think we could even work fake wands!"

Shane gaped at us. "Okay, lunatics. You two enjoy the movies tonight. And Katie? If you feel like dressing up as Ginny, I don't think James will mind."

I flipped Shane off. "Are you riding home with me?"

"Are you nuts? I'm afraid you'll start banging my head against the dashboard now. I'm going with Kyle."

"Which they were planning before we started chewing Shane out for his lack of knowledge when it comes to the wonderful world of _Harry Potter_," Katie piped up. "So don't try to pull the guilt trip on your poor brother."

"Oh, great. Before it was, _James, you're such an ass_! And now it's, _Oh, you poor thing. Let's get married because we both love __**Harry Potter**_!"

Kyle cackled. "Well, Katie's always said that she can't date, sleep with, or marry anyone who doesn't love _Harry Potter_ as much as she does. Oh, and get this. She used to have a red wig that she'd put on when she wanted to pretend to be Ginny Weasley."

I looked at Katie. "Wanna kill them now, or save it for later?"

"I say we do it now. That way we can just relax later tonight without having to plan out a double murder."

"Oh, I'm sure you two will be relaxing," Shane grinned.

"I'm sure they'll be very relaxed when they're finished," Kyle added with a smirk, as he and Shane began to back up towards his car.

Katie and I started towards them, but before we could close any distance between us and them, they jumped into Kyle's car and locked the doors.

"Cheaters!" I hollered at them as Kyle started the car. Shane gave Katie and me cheery waves and Kyle blew a kiss at us, before zooming off out of the school parking lot.

"You know," Logan said, grinning at Katie and me, "those two are going to be awesome together. They're gonna end up driving you both nuts."

"I'm already there," Katie huffily informed him. "Jerks."

I nodded in agreement. "I'm making Shane walk to school from now on. Well, not really because my mom will kill me, but I'm going to threaten him with it."

Katie nodded. "A bluff…I like it."

"Right?"

She grinned. "Well, I have something I can threaten Kyle with too, so I'd say we'll get our revenge one way or another."

"Sounds good to me."

"Okay, so, do you wanna be over at my house at around seven?"

"That works."

"Okay, here's my address." She reeled it off to me and I put it into my phone.

"So, I'll see you in a couple of hours," I said to her.

"Yep. See you then."

We waved bye to the others and headed to our cars.

"So, what're your plans for tonight?" Mom asked me when I got home.

"I'm going over to Katie's house. It's her birthday and we're going to watch a _Harry Potter_ movie."

Mom smiled at me. "That sounds like fun. So, is this a date? Did she finally agree to go out with you?"

I had briefly told her about what had happened at the dance, so she knew the basic story for it.

I shook my head. "This is just two friends – two _platonic_ friends – hanging out."

"Honey, from everything that Shane has told me, you two couldn't be two platonic friends even if you tried."

"We are trying…"

"And I seriously doubt it's working very well."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not discussing this."

"Do I need to give you a package of condoms?" she asked me. "I can run to the store and get them."

"What? Oh my God! Mom! No! We're not going to have – have – gross!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Gross?"

"Yes! Not – not with her – but you – I don't need condoms!"

"Are you sure? Because from the sounds of it, you two have a lot of bottled up sexual tension. It's bound to explode at any point. I just want to make sure my little boy's safe."

"Mom, I'm serious, nothing's going to happen. Besides, it's _Harry Potter_. It's not like we're going to be watching porn."

"You know about porn?"

"Yes, Mom. How can you honestly think that I'm going to have sex, but I don't know anything about porn?"

"It never really occurred to me…Do we need to talk about your computer habits?"

I groaned. "I'm going upstairs now. I'm not discussing this any further! Grill your other son when he gets home. He's the one who's about to get a girlfriend – I mean a boyfriend – I mean a partner – I mean – you know what I mean!"

"I think you can use _boyfriend_ or _partner_," Mom told me, looking amused. "I don't think Shane will mind either one."

"Right. Yeah. Duh."

"Does Shane being gay bother you at all?"

I stared at her. "Why would it bother me?"

"Well, you seemed to get a little flustered over what to call Kyle…"

"Because I don't know what Kyle's going to end up being to him. And I don't know what's going to happen with them, or if they're even going to decide to continue dating. Actually, this isn't even a date. This is just them casually hanging out."

"But Shane and Kyle like each other," Mom replied, and I nodded.

"Yeah. And they seem to get along really well. They seem happy when they're with each other."

"Which is good. Shane needs someone like that, especially after what happened at your old school."

I nodded in agreement. "I'm happy for him. Kyle seems like a really great guy."

"Is Kyle out of the closet?"

"I don't think he is…But I'm not sure. I'll have to ask Katie."

"You do that. What time are you heading over there?"

"Around seven. Actually, I should leave by six-thirty, because I need to stop at the store and pick up a box of popcorn."

"Is that an excuse to pick up condoms?"

"I'm ignoring you now!" I hollered as I dashed up the stairs.

"You do that!"

I shook my head and locked myself in my room. I got through some of my homework, and then changed clothes. I ran a wet comb through my hair before snatching up my wallet and car keys and heading back downstairs.

Mom smiled at me when she saw me. "Aw! You look so handsome! My little-oldest boy is all grown up!"

"Mo-om!" I whined as she tried to fix a piece of my hair, attempting to get it to lie down.

"That damn piece of hair," she mumbled. "It's never laid flat."

"And no amount of pushing down on my head will get it to."

"Fine. Well, have fun with Katie! What time do you think you'll be home?"

"Not sure."

"Well, if you're going to be later than eleven-o-clock, text me and let me know."

"I don't have a curfew?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows at her.

"Nope. I trust you."

"I'm officially worried about you."

"Don't be." She kissed my cheek. "Just be back before one, okay?"

"AM, right?"

"Duh."

"Love you."

"Love you too. Drive safe."

"I will." I headed out of the house to my car and climbed in. I drove to the nearest grocery store and picked up a box of popcorn. I paid for it and went back out. I managed to find Katie's house without too much difficulty, and pulled up in front of her house at 6:55.

I parked, got out, and walked up to her front door, feeling almost nervous. I rang the doorbell, and a moment later the door swung open. Katie had changed out of her school clothes into jeans and a basic Simple Plan t-shirt.

"Hey," she greeted me with a smile, which I returned.

"Hey." I held up the popcorn.

"You remembered…"

"Yep. I know it's not as good as movie theater popcorn, but its still popcorn. I like your shirt."

She grinned. "Do you listen to them?"

I nodded. "They're my favorite band."

"Mine too! How do you feel about their third album? I know a lot of people didn't like it…"

"I loved it. Just because they went a different direction doesn't make it any less awesome," I replied as she let me into her house.

"Right? And it's not like they didn't have songs on it that weren't like their previous ones."

"Exactly. People got so weird over it. But it was still incredible. And I like the direction they went."

"Agreed." She took the box of popcorn from me. "So, which _Harry Potter_ movie do you want to watch?"

"It's your birthday, so it's your choice."

Katie bit her lip. "Um…wow…I can't decide between the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth. What time do you have to be home?"

"One."

"AM?"

"Yeah. My mom extended my curfew."

"Ahhh…lucky!"

I grinned. "Right?"

"Yep. Though my dad doesn't really care too much about what time I get home. So…" she shrugged.

"Gotcha."

She nodded, and led me into the kitchen, where she popped a bag of popcorn into the microwave. "What would you like to drink?"

"Sure. What do you have?"

She reeled off the drinks: "Water, hot tea, hot chocolate – don't tell my coach – different types of sodas…Root Beer, Pepsi, and Cherry Coke. Also stuff that I'd really appreciate you not mentioning to my coach that I have."

I chuckled. "Your secret is safe with me."

She smiled, a look of relief momentarily crossing her face. "Thanks, James."

"No problem. Anyway, I'll go with a Cherry Coke."

Her smile widened. "I like your thinking." She dug two cans of Cherry Coke out from her fridge and passed me one. "Enjoy."

"I will." I popped the can open and took a sip. In the meantime, the timer went off on the microwave and Katie pulled out the bag. She opened it and got out a large, plastic bowl, dumping the popcorn into it. She tossed the bag in the trashcan and we took everything out into the living room, where she set up the movie. We plopped down on the couch together, placing the bowl between us.

We spent the next two and a half hours watching _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, occasionally quoting the movie to each other. By the time it had ended, we were sprawled all over the couch, our legs tangled up and the popcorn bowl resting on the floor.

"I forgot how good that was," Katie told me from her end of the couch.

"Right? So much in it…Humor, a little bit of romance, action, some horror…All the makings of an incredible movie," I said fondly.

"Agreed." She wound one of her legs around mine. "So, what movie now?"

"_The Order of the Phoenix_?"

"Sounds good. I love having a _Harry Potter_ buddy," she grinned.

_Harry Potter_ buddy…buddy…friend…friend zone…ouch. Painful. It would have stung even more if her legs weren't wrapped around mine. So scratch the _painful_ part. It was just confusing. Nothing with us was making sense. Not that it ever had; it seemed like from day one we had this weird kind of flirting/benefits relationship, with neither of us ever actually crossing the virtual lines. But the fact was, I kept getting friend zoned, and it was starting to drive me nuts. We would flirt shamelessly, tease each other, banter, and then just when it seemed like things were starting to finally fall into place – BAM!

Okay, it's not that I have feelings for her – because that's what everyone's probably thinking right now. But really, if you flirt with someone, isn't it nice to think that maybe you'll end up dating that person? Even if you just think it'll happen eventually, at least you have that comfort of knowing that the flirting isn't just going to hit a dead end brick wall. But with Katie…that's the impression that I kept getting. And I knew she had told me straight out at the dance that she wouldn't date a hockey player, so I really didn't have a chance, but…well…it still bothered me for some reason. Probably because of all the sexual tension.

Hmm…maybe it was one of those things where we were friends but flirted our way through high school, and then once we were in college, we ended up at a party together, got drunk, and wound up in bed with each other.

I hoped I'd at least get to remember it…

I felt Katie's legs shift away from mine, and I crashed back down to earth, away from our future of drunken hookups and awkward eye contact.

She got to her feet. "I'm gonna put in the next movie. Mind throwing another bag of popcorn in the microwave?"

"No problem." I got up and headed into the kitchen. I unwrapped another bag of popcorn and slid it in the microwave, setting the timer. I heard the sound of the previews from the next room, and then unmistakable sound of Katie fast-forwarding through them on the lowest speed so that everything just sounded really bizarre, like the actors were speaking a different language. I chuckled and wandered back into the living room. Katie was grinning as she listened to the sped up dialogue.

"Don't judge," she told me. "I just think it's funny like this."

I chuckled. "No judging, I promise. Shane and I do that too. It drives our mom nuts."

Katie laughed. "It just sounds so ridiculous. It's the language of the future," she added with a wicked grin.

"Oh, dear Lord, I hope not!"

"It so is. It totally is."

"The horror!" I cried dramatically, flopping limply onto the couch.

Katie's grin widened and she climbed into my lap so that she was straddling me. "Afraid of our future language, Jamie-Bear?"

Not as afraid as I was of suddenly popping a boner…That would just be my luck.

"I'm just worried that we'll run out of breath really quickly when we try to talk like that," I told her.

She laughed, hands resting on my shoulders. Her brown hair cascaded down her back and over one shoulder, catching the light just right so that it reflected dark gold. In the distance, I heard the beeper go off on the microwave, but neither of us paid any attention to it. "See, this is why I like talking to you," she told me. "You're funny."

"And if I wasn't funny?"

"You'd be boring. But you're not. You always manage to make me laugh, and that's really important."

"So, you're not just keeping me around for my body?"

She winked at me. "Don't think it hasn't occurred to me."

I grinned and managed to flip her over onto her back, pinning her to the couch under me. She shrieked, giggling. "Who's using who for their body now?" she managed to get out.

"Still you, using me."

"Oh, you think so?" she lifted a hand, tracing her fingers down my chest. "Mmm…not a bad idea. Thanks for the idea, Diamond." She winked at me, before rolling us off of the couch and onto the floor, with her on top of me again. "Not so cocky when you're under a girl, huh?"

"Au contraire, I'm cocky no matter when – _especially_ when I'm under a girl."

"Oh, I bet," she purred. "That's not surprising in the least. But I bet you don't mind being on top of a girl either. You didn't seem to mind with me."

I grinned. "Why would I mind?"

"You wouldn't." She grinned back. "Not at all."

"Good. Glad we got that straightened out."

"Mmm hmm. Oh, the popcorn's done." And just like that, she picked herself up off of me and headed into the kitchen, leaving me laying on the floor, trying to figure out what the fuck had just happened.

I could hear her pouring the popcorn into the bowl and I sighed quietly, shaking my head. That girl was going to end up sending me to an insane asylum.

I plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote. Katie returned a moment later with the popcorn. She sat down next to me, her expression completely casual, like nothing had just gone down five minutes ago. She was so confusing.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

James and I ended up watching the sixth movie as well, and winded up with a third bowl of popcorn. After me ending up on top of him, him ending up on top of me, and me ending back on top of him, the rest of the night was relatively quiet. It was almost one by the time James headed out. Before he could leave, however, I wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you," I said to him. "For an amazing birthday. You really are incredible." I kissed his cheek and a wide smile crossed his face.

"You're welcome," he told me. "I'm happy it turned out so well."

"Me too." I smiled back at him. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday." He nodded at me, before walking out the front door. I closed and locked up the door before going to the couch and peering through the living room window. I watched as he got into his car. A moment later, the headlights came on, and he backed out of the almost empty driveway, before driving away down the street.

I sighed, collapsing on the couch. Was it weird that I already missed him? _Yes_, I decided. It was very weird. But in some ways it made a lot of sense. Because I couldn't keep pretending otherwise – I had feelings for him. I mean, feelings outside of the sexual tension. I actually wanted to be with him. I wanted to be the girl who would cuddle up to him during _Harry Potter_ movies, who cheered for him at hockey games, and when his team won, would leap into his arms and kiss him passionately. I wanted to be the girl who he held hands with as he walked down the halls at school, who he held whenever she was having a bad day. I wanted to be the girl who he texted first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

There was no doubt about it.

I had fallen head over heels for James Diamond.

Damn him.

With a sigh, I dragged myself up to my room, where I got ready for bed and crawled in between the sheets. I snuggled under my blankets, closing my eyes. Today had been wonderful, beyond amazing. I couldn't believe James had done so much for me, especially after the way I had treated him up until a week ago. He really was incredible, and so, so nice. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have someone like him in my life. How many other girls could say that they had their own James Diamond?

I smiled happily to myself, fighting back a squeal. God, I was such a teenage girl. But I couldn't even convince myself that I was being ridiculous – it just felt too natural to be going crazy over him.

I sunk into a stupor, fantasizing about what could have happened if I hadn't gotten up off of James to pull the popcorn out of the microwave. I had just managed to get to the part where I was unbuttoning his jeans when my phone started ringing. Loudly. I jerked back to full consciousness, and blinked in the darkness of my room. I blindly grabbed my phone from my nightstand and checked the caller ID. Kyle.

I hit the green button and put the phone up to my ear. "What time is it?" I mumbled.

"About four-o-clock," he told me.

"Oh. Guess I fell asleep." I yawned. "So, why're you calling me before the sun has even begun to rise?"

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," he told me. "So I went out for a walk."

"Where are you?" I asked him sleepily.

"Um…outside your house…"

"Oh, brother," I groaned, kicking my covers back and sliding out of bed. "Hang on, I'll let you inside."

"Okay, thanks. Your dad isn't home?"

"Nope. He's on that business trip, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right."

I scurried downstairs and checked out the window. Sure enough, Kyle was on the front porch. I unlocked the door and opened it, before hanging up.

Kyle grinned sheepishly at me. "Thanks." He walked into the house and I locked up behind him.

"So, why are you here?" I asked.

"I don't know…I just needed someone to talk to."

"Okay, well, here I am. Actually…you know what? It's freezing. Come on up to my room."

If it had been anyone but Kyle, I wouldn't have made that suggestion. But Kyle was my best friend and he was practically a second brother to me, so the idea of bringing him up to my room didn't faze me in the least.

We headed on up and he kicked his shoes off, crawling into the bed with me.

"So, spill," I told him. "How was your date-thingy with Shane?"

Even in the dark I could see Kyle's face turning red. "It wasn't a date…"

"But you like him."

"Yeah…"

"Whatever. It was a friendly outing. So, how was it?"

"He's awesome," Kyle said bluntly. "He's…wow. I can't even begin to describe it. This might sound stupid coming from a sixteen year old, but he's everything I could ever want. He's funny and sweet and a little competitive, but not overly so. We split the cost for dinner. Oh, and he's amazing at arcade games."

I snorted quietly. Of course that would be one of the characteristics that Kyle would look for in a potential partner. _Amazing at arcade games_…Teenage boys…

"And he's so hot," Kyle added with a slight whimper.

"I know. Both Diamond boys are super hot."

He sighed, laying his head on my stomach. "He's perfect, Katie. He really is."

I smiled. Aww, young love. But I knew how he felt. That was what was going through my head when it came to James.

"Is it possible to be in love with someone who you've only known for a little while?" Kyle asked me dreamily.

I chuckled. "You're definitely the romantic. Still have your Jane Austen collection?"

"Shut up," he whined. "I believe in romance and true love. You're the one who doesn't have a romantic bone in her body."

"Maybe I do…" I murmured. "Or…something like a romantic bone."

"Please tell me that isn't code for _I slept with James Diamond_. Because on the one hand, you go, girl! But on the other, gross. I don't want to know what bone – real one or just skin and blood – you let into your body."

"Dude!" I hollered. "Graphic, much?"

He cackled. "Sorry, couldn't help it. So, it isn't code for that?"

"No. I'm still a virgin."

"Oh, bummer."

"Why? You're one."

"Yeah, but that's because the one I'm interested in is only fifteen."

"Right. Because there isn't a fifteen year old in the world who has had sex," I deadpanned.

"Shut up, you know what I mean. He's younger. I don't want to push him into something. And in case you forgot, we're not even together."

"And James and I aren't together either."

"Which sucks so much."

"Why?"

"Because he's the first guy who's ever got your blood boiling."

"Have you been reading bodice rippers again?"

"He drives you insane, but in a good way. He makes you want to tear your hair out, but he also makes you want to kiss him senseless."

I wordlessly nodded. That was exactly how I felt when I was around him.

"So, how'd it go tonight?" he asked me.

I bit my lip. "Pretty well…"

"Oh my gosh! Something happened! Details! Spill! Now!"

I gave him the blow-by-blow of what had happened that night. By the time I had finished, Kyle was sitting upright, staring at me.

"And you just crawled off of him to check on the popcorn…?!"

"Um…yes…"

He face-palmed. "Unbelievable."

"I know, I know! Believe me, I've been berating myself for it all night."

"Why'd you do it?"

"I just…I got scared," I admitted quietly. "It was like, suddenly we were in this position where anything could and would happen and I panicked. I mean, I just admitted to myself that I have feelings for James. I don't want to just jump into something that neither of us are ready for."

"Yeah…Okay, that makes sense," Kyle said. "I know what you mean."

"It's scary," I said in a soft voice.

"I know it is, K." He wrapped an arm around me. "It is for me too. Those damn Diamond boys…What're they doing to us?"

I laughed weakly, leaning into him. "They're going to drive us nuts."

"That they are."

I closed my eyes, head resting on his chest. Eventually, my breathing evened out and I drifted back off to sleep, James making his way through my dreams, moving silently and never speaking, just occasionally giving me a smile.

* * *

_**Okay, wow! A lot of emotions towards the end of the chapter! I'm sorry if it got confusing or messy or if I repeated myself at any point. I was trying to make everything as smooth as possible, but I'm not sure I succeeded. But hopefully you guys liked it anyway :)**_

**_So, it'd be amazing if you guys could show some love to the review button. It spent Thanksgiving all alone, and now it's sad, but it'll cheer up once it's reminded how much it's loved._**

**_Oh, and just a quick reminder - the poll is still up on the JatieFantasy profile page, so it'd be great if you would vote for the next story you want Jatieluv and me to post :)_**

**_Happy belated Thanksgiving (to everyone in the United States)! :)_**


	11. Chapter 11: Chaperons and Drive-Ins

**_Whew, I finally got Chapter Eleven up! About time, right?_  
**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush, or Shakespeare's play "All's Well That Ends Well", or the king's monologue...Basically, anything you guys recognize, I don't own. Sound good? :)_**

**_Guest: Thank you so much! I'm so happy you liked it, and I'm glad the emotions got cleared up for you. I'll try to update Touch the Flame soon :) Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it!_**

**_Guest (#2): Yay, more quotes! Thank you so much, I'm so happy it makes you laugh! Thank you so much for reviewing, I loved hearing your thoughts on the chapter!_**

**_misslittlemaslow(21): Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Hope this satisfies you for a little while ;) Thank you for reviewing! I loved your review :)_**

**_Guest (#3): Thank you so much! I'm happy you liked it! It would suck if I stopped now, so it's a good thing I haven't stopped ;) *Virtual fist bump* oh yeah, fellow Harry Potter fan! Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it :)_**

**_Miss Sparkles: Love your name! Anyway...Aww, I'm sorry! I hope this'll help you out a little bit ;) Thank you so much! For real?! You're so sweet! Awww *big hug*. Thank you so much for reviewing, your review made me smile :)_**

**_THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ, FAVORITED, FOLLOWED, OR REVIEWED THIS STORY! I got so many amazing reviews for the last chapter and I loved them all so much. Plus, the follow count is now up to eighty, which is pretty amazing, at least to me. So thank you all so much for that, and I'm sorry if I scared anyone by not updating for a few weeks. But hopefully this 8,621 word chapter (according to the doc manager) will make up for it a little ;) It's a chapter I've been planning since I first came up with the story idea as a whole, and it was supposed to happen in the last chapter, but there wasn't room for it. And yet, it still ended up being twice as long as one of my normal chapters. There's a lot I want to say about this chapter, but basically, I'm just going to say that there's the usual stupid conversations in it, so be on the lookout for that. And if slash bothers you, then there might be a point in here that you might not like, so keep that in mind. Hope you guys enjoy it! Love you all so much! *Hugs and love and virtual cookies*._**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Chaperons and Drive-Ins**

**Shane's POV**

"Dude, I've never seen someone so good at Ms. Pacman," Kyle told me as he turned the car onto my street. "How did you learn?"

"My brother had an obsession with it when he was younger and he taught me," I explained. "James was in love with it. Mom taught him when he was really young, so…"

"Ah, gotcha. Sounds like he's a good brother."

"He is, the best. I'm lucky to have him. Do you have any siblings?"

Kyle shook his head. "Only if you count Katie. She's like the little sister I never had."

"Yeah, you two seem pretty close," I commented.

"We grew up together. I'm the same age as her older brother, but I was always closer with Katie, probably because we wound up in the same skating class together. Kendall was always much more interested in hockey."

I chuckled. "I know how that goes. I grew up around hockey and I ended up in love with it. I guess I'm like Kendall in that way."

"Yeah, you kind of remind me of him, which is a good thing, because he's awesome."

"He is. He's an awesome captain."

"Seems like it," Kyle agreed. "Oh, is this it?"

I nodded, recognizing the house even in the dim light. "Yep, this is my house. Thanks for the ride."

He smiled at me, eyes meeting mine, before pulling to a stop in front of my house. "You're welcome. I'm glad we could hang out. Maybe we can do it again soon sometime."

"Yeah." I smiled back. "That'd be awesome."

"Maybe we could see a movie next week," Kyle suggested. "At the drive-in."

"You guys have a drive-in?"

"Yep, it's from, like, the '50s or something. It's pretty awesome."

"Sounds like it. I've never been to one."

"They're not very common anymore," Kyle said sadly. "I've only been to the one."

"That sucks. There should be more of them."

"There should be. Anyway…are you interested in going? I'm not sure what movie is showing next week, I'll have to check."

I couldn't help but think that it didn't really matter to me what movie was playing. It could be the worst movie in the world and I wouldn't care, as long as I got to see it with Kyle.

"Whatever it is, I'll be glad to go," I told him honestly.

Kyle smiled at me. "Well, in that case I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too." I smiled back at him and opened the door, getting out of the car. "See you on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday."

I headed up to the front door, glancing at him over my shoulder. I could see him sitting in the driver's seat, watching to make sure I got into the house okay. I unlocked the front door and waved at him, before slipping into the house.

I could hear the TV blaring from the living room, so I headed in that direction. I found Mom sitting in front of the TV, watching _Grey's Anatomy_.

"Hey," I greeted her. She looked around and smiled at me, grabbing the remote and putting the show on pause.

"Hi, honey. How was your…thing…with Kyle?"

"It was a lot of fun. He's awesome."

"Sounds like a very good thing," she said, patting the cushion next to her on the couch. I sat down beside her.

"Is James still at Katie's?"

"Yep. I hope they're doing okay."

I smirked. "Oh, I'm sure they are…"

Mom glanced at me sharply. "Do you know something I don't?"

"I wish. James probably won't even kiss Katie. Which means tomorrow there'll be more sheets for you to wash."

"Shane…!"

"What? You know it just as well as I do. As long as he and Katie have this unresolved sexual tension, he'll keep having wet dreams about her."

"I believe the same is true for you, young man," Mom pointed out. "I've been washing your sheets almost as much as I've been washing James'."

"But you're still washing his more."

She sighed. "Touché."

I gave her a small smile. "At least as long as he's having the dreams, you know he's not doing anything with her."

"True. And the same goes for you. I won't stop you if you want to…do stuff…with Kyle. But I will remind you that you're only fifteen, and the age of consent in Minnesota is sixteen. And out here, in California, it's eighteen, so…"

"I know. Believe me, I don't have any immediate plans to sleep with Kyle."

"I didn't think you did…It's just, you're a teenage boy and I know that you're doubtlessly struggling with your…urges…"

I now knew how James felt…I would never tease him again whenever Mom tried to give him The Talk. Well, probably not. Okay, I might. Fine. I probably would. But I'd feel bad about it afterwards. Probably.

"Mom…I've had The Talk. James has talked to me about these things…"

"But he's a teenage boy too. And I want to be sure to cover all the bases with you."

"First base is kissing, second base if feeling up, and third base is getting naked, but not going all the way," I reeled off for her.

Mom stared at me for a long moment. At last, she said, "You're worse than James…And I didn't think that was possible…"

"I learned it from him."

"So I gathered…"

I shrugged. "Anyway, I'll be fine."

"I'm sure you will be. But I'm still worried. Girls are usually pretty good at hitting the brakes, but two teenage guys…It might be harder for that to happen…"

"On the bright side, neither of us have ovaries, so we can't get pregnant," I said cheerfully.

"That doesn't help."

"Sorry…"

She sighed. "Look, sex is emotional. So many feelings can become involved. I just don't want you to do something and then be let down and regret your actions."

"I know. Mom, you don't have to worry. Kyle and I aren't even dating. We haven't even kissed. And I'm not going to do something that I'm going to regret. I'll be careful. Promise."

Mom sighed again. "Okay. I guess I don't really have any choice but to trust your judgment."

"Thank you. I'm just finally starting to…to feel better. I don't want this to end."

"I know, honey. And that's why I'm so worried. Because I don't want this to be snatched away from you."

I nodded. "But Kyle's really awesome. He's a really good guy."

"I'm sure he is." There was a long pause, and then she asked, "Are you going to hang out with him again?"

"Yeah, probably in a week. We were talking about going to the drive-in."

Mom raised an eyebrow. "The drive-in? Like where you sit in your car and watch a movie?"

"Yeah."

"Oh man…"

"What? I can go, right?"

"I suppose…"

I beamed. "Thanks, Mom! You're the best!"

"And don't you forget it," she said, but chuckled nonetheless.

Mom went to bed a little after eleven, but I stayed up to wait for James. He walked into the house a little after one, smiling widely.

"Hey, dork," I greeted him as I stepped out of the shadows of the stairs.

"Shane! Fuck! What the hell are you still doing up?!" James hissed at me, putting his hand to his heart.

"Waiting for you. Duh. How was Katie's birthday evening? Did you exchange gifts?" I added with a smirk.

James rolled his eyes. "Nice innuendo. And no, we didn't. And her birthday evening was just fine."

"Just fine? That doesn't sound promising…"

"It is and it isn't…"

"Oh no. You two did more of your I-really-want-to-fuck-your-brains-out-on-the-chemistry-table-desk-but-I-don't-want-to-admit-that-I'm-attracted-to-you flirting, didn't you?"

James blinked at me. "What was the question again?"

I rolled my eyes. "You two kept beating around the bush, didn't you?"

"Yeah…pretty much."

"Oh man…"

"How'd your evening go with Kyle?" James asked, changing the topic.

I felt a smile stretch across my face. "It went really well. We really hit it off. Dude, there's so much chemistry between us, it's amazing."

"Come on, let's go upstairs," James suggested. "We can talk up there."

"Okay, sounds good." We headed up to James' room and we plopped down on his bed.

Once we were situated, James turned to me. "So, spill your guts."

I rolled my eyes. "There's not a lot to say. We just get along really well. And there's definitely chemistry."

"What kind of chemistry? Like, hey-let's-be-BFFs kind of chemistry, or hey-let's-fuck kind of chemistry?"

I blushed slightly. "Closer to the last one…"

"So sexual tension and chemistry." James grinned.

"I – yeah. I guess so. Yeah."

"Sounds hot," James teased. "So, anything interesting happen between you two?"

"Nope. We just talked and hung out."

"Ah."

"Yep. What about you and Katie?"

"Something _almost_ happened…"

I didn't miss the way he stressed the word _almost_, like he was saying it through gritted teeth.

"Oh yeah?" I cocked an eyebrow. "What was it?"

"We almost kissed or dry humped or…something. I'm not exactly sure what."

I blinked. "You almost kissed or dry humped or something. That clears that up for me. Thanks."

He sighed and explained what had happened at her house. By the end of it, I was shaking my head. "Should've done something, big brother."

"I know, I know," James groaned, grabbing a pillow and covering his face with it. I chuckled.

"It's not the end of the world, you know. Maybe you'll have more luck next weekend."

"I can only hope…But it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"What do you mean?"

"She doesn't like me. She won't date a hockey player."

"Maybe she'll make an exception for you," I suggested.

"She won't. Even if she does like me, it's enough to change her rules."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Well, I'm pretty certain she won't change her rules."

"You never know…Kyle told me tonight that he's never seen Katie act like she does with you with anyone else."

"That's nice."

"James, she has feelings for you. It's so obvious. You're the only one who can't see it."

"When I asked her to the dance, she told me _no way in hell_."

"She's changed a lot since then."

"It's been a week."

"So? She's really changed her tune since the dance. And I'm sure that she's especially grateful for today."

James rolled his eyes. "So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"That she probably likes you a lot more than she did last week."

"Whatever."

I shook my head. "You're so fucking stubborn," I griped.

"You already knew that."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to bed. Enjoy your dreams about Katie."

"Who said I was going to dream about Katie?"

I snorted. "Please. You've been dreaming about her almost every night since you met her."

"I – screw you."

"Actually, you dream about screwing her." I cackled as he flipped me off, and I jumped off his bed. "Have a good night, James."

He threw a pillow at me as I headed off, but I dodged it, laughing again. My brother was so easy to annoy.

* * *

**James' POV**

I was going to kill Shane. Did he _always_ have to be right about me when it came to Katie? And couldn't he keep his predictions about my dreams to himself? Maybe if he hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have spent the entire night dreaming about Katie.

But that's exactly what I did.

"_James…" she gasped as my mouth found her neck. "Oh…" she whined and whimpered, her fingers tangling in my hair, pushing me even closer. I grinned against her skin in triumph, backing her into her locker. I pulled back from her neck and instead pressed my lips against hers. She kissed me back, sighing. I deepened it, groaning softly as she slid her hands under my shirt, palms smooth against my stomach and chest._

_She broke the kiss. "This really needs to come off," she informed me, indicating my shirt. "And these too." She nodded at my jeans, before nudging her hip into my zipper and moving it in a small circle. I bit my lip and she smirked. "So, gonna take 'em off?"_

_I pulled off my shirt. "Your turn."_

"_Demanding, demanding." She clucked her tongue, before beginning to unbutton her blouse._

I won't go into the rest of the sordid details – you can probably imagine them for yourself – but needless to say, I woke up wet and sticky and still not feeling satisfied. Fuck.

That night was more of the same, as was Sunday night. I was pretty sure by the time Katie and I actually did consummate our whatever-the-hell-this was – if we ever did, anyway – I wouldn't have any semen left. That thought didn't cheer me up any.

Shane was beyond chipper on Monday morning. He's one of those annoying, early-morning people who skips into the kitchen singing, "Good morning everyone, isn't it a beautiful day outside?" Those are the kind of people I usually want to use as guinea pigs to try out the latest brand of duct tape.

"What're you so happy about?" I grumbled as I poured myself a second cup of coffee.

"Kyle texted me. He wants to see me again this Friday." He grinned.

"You see him every day at school."

"You know what I mean."

"Not this early in the morning I don't." I took a sip of my coffee.

"He's asking me out on a date!"

Mom looked up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. "Oh dear, I do need to talk to you about safe sex, don't I?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "I told you about this. We're going to go to the drive-in."

"What movie are you going to see?"

He named off the movie for her, and she shook her head. "No way. That one may be PG13, but all the reviews say it should be rated R. You're not going without a chaperon."

"Mo-om!"

"I'm serious. James and Katie can go with you."

My jaw dropped. "Mo-om!"

Mom looked over at me. "What? It's perfect. Shane and Kyle can be in one car and you and Katie can be in the other. Maybe you two can even get to know each other a little better."

Shane smirked. "I'm sure James won't mind."

"Not like that!" Mom yelped. "I meant, maybe he can figure out if she likes him or not. Not – _that_ – "

I shook my head. "Fine, I'll go, but if Katie kills me because she thinks I'm trying to get my hands on her, I'm never forgiving you two."

"That's fine," Mom replied. "Just make sure you keep an eye on your brother."

Ten minutes later Shane and I were on our way to school, the radio blaring 3 Doors Down.

"Are you really going to keep an eye on me?" Shane asked me.

"Are you nuts? Drive-in movies might as well be renamed Make Out Point. I plan on avoiding his car – because you two will be getting it on in _his_ car, not _mine_ – as much as I can, and I'm sure Katie will be doing the same."

Shane grinned. "And this is why you're the best big brother ever."

"That's right, and don't you ever forget it."

"I won't."

The first words out of Katie's mouth when she met up with me were, "So, did Shane tell you that Kyle asked him out?"

"He did, as a matter of fact. Speaking of which, how would you like to chaperon them with me?"

She blinked at me. "Excusez-moi?"

I grimaced. "Shane told my mom the name of the movie they're going to see and she kind of freaked out. She wants us chaperoning them."

"Dude! I'm not going to watch my best friend make out with your little brother!" she cried.

"Well, I'm not going to watch my little brother make out with your best friend!" I yelped.

"How about neither of you watch the little brother make out with the best friend and you two just make out with each other?!" some smart ass from chem lab shouted at us.

"How about you mind your own business?!" Katie yelled at him as he headed down the hall. He didn't respond.

"Hmmph." She crossed her arms. "Busy bodies."

I nodded, even though an image of Katie and me in my car, her in my lap, our lips pretty much glued together, was flashing through my mind. That really didn't sound like a bad idea…

"Anyway," she continued on, "I'll come with you, but I'm not sitting in the same car as them."

"We won't be. We'll be in my car, away from them."

"Okay, sounds good." She shuddered. "I love Kyle and I'd do anything for him, but I'm not going to cock block him."

I winced. "You're cock blocking him from my little brother."

"Oh, right, sorry. Would it bother you if he had sex?"

"Um…I don't know…I never actually thought about it."

Katie pressed her lips together. "Well, you know it's going to happen sooner or later, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I mean, it happened with you, so…"

I blinked at her. Um, what?

"You can't expect him to remain a virgin forever when you're not," she told me, patting my arm. "Anyway, I have to get to homeroom, and you probably should too. See you in a little while." She bustled off before I could correct her on the whole not-being-a-virgin thing. Because, the thing was, I was one. I totally was.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I never had the opportunities, it's just that I never took them. Call me old fashioned and a romantic, but I was waiting for the right girl.

But that still didn't explain why she thought I wasn't one.

I hurried to homeroom, still trying to figure it out. I slid into my usual seat and immediately turned to Logan. "Maybe you can explain something about Katie to me."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I doubt it, but I'll see what I can do…"

"Why does she think I've had sex before?"

He blinked. "Because you have…?"

I shook my head. "No! I haven't, I've never gotten that far with a girl. Hell, the only girlfriend I've ever had was in middle school and it lasted for three weeks before she decided Tyler Donahue had a cooler skateboard."

Logan chuckled. "Well, don't worry about that, I'm not one for dating either, and neither is Carlos or Kendall."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about the fact that Katie thinks I've gone all the way."

"Well, you can't really blame her for that, can you?" Logan replied.

"Why on earth would she think that?"

"Because you're you."

"Thanks, that really clears that up."

He chuckled. "Look, you're a good looking guy – and I mean that in a straight, non-platonic way. You're really good looking. Hell, I was probably even a little bit attracted to you when I first saw you, and I'm straighter than straight."

"That's good to know…"

"So yeah. You're a good looking guy who's well-built and, honestly, could be a model if you wanted to be. It's natural that people think you've gone around the block with a girl a couple of times."

"But I haven't!" I wailed. "And I don't want people to get the wrong idea about me!"

"What, that you're a nice guy?"

"What if they start thinking I'm a player? I don't want that. I'm not a player. I'm the complete opposite of one. And what if Katie starts thinking that? We're just finally starting to tread water – I don't want to sink back down to that dark, murky place."

Logan blinked at me. "Um…moving past the really weird metaphors…"

"What am I going to do?" I whined.

"Tell her the truth? Look, it's not that big of a deal, so don't worry about it."

"Well…okay…so…how far have you gotten with a girl?" I asked curiously.

Logan blushed bright red. "Um…well…"

"Well, he and Camille have made out a lot, even though they're not '_together'_," Kendall grinned as he joined us, holding his fingers up as quotation marks. "Logan won't tell us anything else, but, as much as it pains me to admit, he's probably got the most experience. Which is actually pretty ironic because he's the dorky nerd and the rest of us are almost considered cool."

I laughed. "Nice, Kendall, real nice."

"So, how did you two get talking about that?" Kendall wanted to know. "Seems like kind of a random thing to discuss this early in the morning."

"Oh, Katie thinks James has had sex before and he hasn't," Logan said with a shrug. "He's getting all upset because he doesn't want her to think he's a player."

Kendall blinked at me. "You haven't?"

I banged my head against my desk. You know, most guys would love for everyone to think they're experienced…I'm definitely a freak of nature, because this was bothering me to no end.

"I guess it's because it would follow his stereotype," Kendall said. "You know, tall, dark, and handsome, an athlete, funny and nice, that kind of thing. Although, everyone seems to think that any guy over fifteen has had sex, so maybe it has nothing to do with his stereotype specifically."

"Yeah, you know, I think you're right," Logan agreed. "Camille's always complaining about that, how it's so cool if guys are sleeping around, but if girls even proceed past second base, then they're automatically considered sluts. It's so stupid, and I don't get it at all."

I shrugged. "Girls are judgmental and they're usually the ones who judge each other. That's just the way it goes."

"Sadly, I think you're right."

The rest of the week passed by both quickly and slowly. Quickly because I was excited to be getting some alone time with Katie in my car. Slowly because I was dreading to be getting some alone time with Katie in my car.

"How do I look?" Shane asked as he scampered into my room on Friday evening, a half hour before we needed to leave for the drive-in. He was dressed in skinny jeans and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

"You look like me," I informed him, gesturing to my all-too similar apparel.

Shane groaned. "Fuck! I don't want to look like you!"

"Well, gee, thanks. I hate to burst your bubble, but you do look like me. Same hair, same eyes, same skin tone, same nose. Hell, we even sound a lot alike. The only difference is that I'm taller and more muscular."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't rub it in," he grumbled. "Well, I can't wear this now. I want Kyle to think I'm original, not that I'm a carbon copy of my brother."

"I'm really not seeing the problem with being a carbon copy of me."

"This carbon copy of you might be seen making out with Kyle tonight."

"I'm getting you a wig and a new wardrobe."

Shane smirked. "Knew that would get to you. Like we'd let anyone see us…Anyway…t-shirt…but I can keep the jeans, right?"

"Yes, Shane, you can keep the jeans."

"Good. Because, not to sound like you, but they make my ass look awesome!"

I face-palmed. "Dude, you are so gay."

He snickered and wiggled his ass at me, before heading back into his room to change.

I checked myself out in the mirror once more, making sure that I looked okay. I did and, as much as I hated to sound like Shane, my black skinny jeans definitely did make my ass look awesome. And girls cared about how guys' asses looked, right?

Twenty-five minutes later, we were both ready. We kissed Mom's cheek before heading out to my car. We buckled up, I started the car, cranked up the radio, and drove to the drive-in.

We arrived fifteen minutes later, and Shane immediately pointed out Kyle's car. "There it is!"

I pulled up beside the blue SUV, eyeing it. "Looks pretty roomy."

Shane raised an eyebrow at me. "Wanna trade for the night? You can Katie can have the roomy SUV and Kyle and I get the less roomy, but rad car."

"Nope." I popped the P. "Just don't do anything that Mom will find out about and wring my neck for – I'm supposed to be watching you, remember?"

"Deal."

I parked my Dodge Challenger and turned off the ignition. Shane and I both climbed out, and Kyle and Katie got out of his car as well.

Shane and Kyle spent a long moment just looking at each other and smiling, while I moved over to stand beside Katie.

"Think we should remind them that it's about forty degrees outside?" I asked her, pulling my coat around me a little tighter. "I thought southern California was supposed to be warm."

"We're apparently having a cold streak – oh, and it's forty-five, not forty," she added helpfully.

"Good to know."

She grinned at me and propped herself up on the hood of Kyle's SUV, her feet dangling off the ground. I raised myself up beside her, waiting for Kyle and Shane to come back into their own little world. They were now standing about three inches apart, talking quietly.

"What are they, newlyweds?" Katie grumbled as she swung her legs. "I feel like I need to start throwing rice at them, and maybe write _Congratulations Newlyweds_ on the back of his car."

I nodded in agreement. "I just want to get inside so that we can pay for the movie."

"Right. So…do you actually want to see the movie?"

I paused. "Honestly?"

"Yes, honestly."

"I wouldn't see this movie if you paid me."

She let out a relived sigh. "Oh, thank goodness. I get this is supposed to be a romantic action comedy, but it looks so stupid. But Kyle likes stupid movies."

"So does Shane."

"You know, they'd be a lot happier if we weren't even a little bit close to them," she continued on. "I know we were going to just stay in your car, and we can do that, but I really don't want to pay for the movie."

"I don't want to pay for it either," I told her. "So, do you want to head somewhere else?"

"Sure. This way, they can feel like this is a real date and we get to hang out by ourselves."

I turned to look at her, and she immediately opened her mouth to correct herself.

"I just – I meant – we don't have other people bogging us down – I mean – whatever, it's been a long day."

"I know." We had had a pop quiz in English that day, and even I had struggled with it. Katie had admitted to me that she was pretty unsure about how she had done, and she had probably been knocking herself out about it.

"So, yeah, let's just do that. Come on, let's go tell the lovebirds."

We hopped off the hood of the car and headed over to Shane and Kyle, who were still talking softly.

They paused their conversation when Katie and I approached them.

"We've decided we're just going to head somewhere else," Katie told them. "Neither of us actually want to see this movie, and we all know this is actually a date for you two – we don't want to intrude. So…just have fun, okay?"

Shane and Kyle both blushed, but they nodded anyway.

"Good, but not too much fun," I broke in. "So, no fooling around or anything that involves making messes."

Katie clapped her hand over her mouth as the lovebirds blushed an even darker red in the light reflected from the concession building.

"_James_ – !" Shane hissed, looking like he was about ready to kill me.

"So, nothing that involves the need for protection," I continued on, ignoring him. "No taking advantage of my little brother," I added sternly to Kyle. "Because I don't care how nice you seem, if you hurt him, I will personally hunt you down and kill you as painfully as I can. Okay?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't – I'd never hurt Shane…"

"Good, let's keep it that way."

"The same goes for you with Kyle," Katie said to Shane. "I may look small and innocent and adorable, but you don't want to mess with me."

"I know. Believe me, I know. I saw James after the volleyball attack, and after you tried to grope him."

Katie's face flushed. "I didn't try to grope him…"

"You mean you actually managed to grope him? He left out that part."

"She didn't grope me!" I hollered, causing a group of chatting college students a few cars down to turn to stare at us.

"But she wanted to," Kyle smirked.

"I – what?" Katie said blankly.

"So, no hurting Katie," Kyle winked at me.

"And no hurting James," Shane added to Katie. "Capiche?"

"Um…"

"Good. Have fun you two. Oh, and you better leave your car here, because if Mom sees it somewhere else besides here, she's going to get really mad," Shane continued on as he and Kyle pushed Katie and me away from our cars. "And you know she was planning on hanging out with some friends tonight. She thinks you're chaperoning me and Kyle. Seriously, you're such a bad influence on me, running off to get groped by Katie."

"I'm not running off to get groped by her!"

"I'm reading between the lines here, okay? So, have fun." He winked at me, before grabbing Kyle's hand and dragging him back to the SUV, leaving Katie and me standing at the edge of the parking lot in stunned silence.

"Did that just happen?" she asked blankly.

"You know, I think it just did. My little brother is getting so dirty minded…"

"So is my best friend…"

It was a few more minutes before we were able to get past the shock enough to address the situation at hand.

"So…where do you want to go?" I asked her.

"Well, we could go get food from the concession-stand-thingy," Katie suggested.

"Sounds good." We turned around and headed towards the café-sized building. We pushed through the doors and walked up to the counter. The cashier looked at us.

"Two tickets?"

I shook my head. "We're just here for the food. Are we allowed to eat here without having tickets?"

She nodded. "Sure, it's set up like a café. A lot of families come in here and eat dinner before a movie, and they don't pay for their tickets until right before the movie starts."

"Okay, cool." Katie and I scanned the menu items together, and after a couple of minutes, we were both ready to order.

I ended up getting a hamburger with deep fried curly fries, onion rings, and a chocolate milkshake, while Katie hesitantly got a salad and a diet Coke.

I looked at her curiously as we took our seats at a small, metal table by a window facing the parking lot. She picked up her fork and began to poke at her salad, her mood drastically changed.

"Why'd you only get a salad?" I asked her. "Not to be rude or anything, but…this is a drive-in. The point is _not_ to eat healthy. And the deep fried fries are really cheap."

"I know," she said quietly as she dumped a packet of non-fat Ranch dressing over her salad.

"In fact, they were cheaper than the salad and the anorexic dressing."

"It's not anorexic dressing," she protested, but there wasn't any heart in it.

"Does that stuff even taste good?"

"It's – it's okay…"

I swiped my finger through a smear of dressing and stuck it in my mouth. I immediately made a face. "Gross. How can you eat that crap?"

"Very slowly…"

"Yet you're eating it."

"Yeah…"

"Why?" I demanded as I unwrapped my burger.

"Because Sarah doesn't want me gaining any weight. I went way over my calorie count last Friday – I can't do that again."

"Why not? I've seen how you eat. You're in absolutely no danger of gaining weight. And, no offense, but you're already pretty thin. You really don't need to lose weight."

"I know. But Sarah…she's forbidden me to gain weight. I have to be careful what I eat, because when I return to ice skating, she's going to start make me weigh myself weekly, and if I gain even a pound…" she sighed. "It can't happen. It just can't."

"That's not fair," I protested. "You're an athlete and you have a lot of lean muscle and you burn a lot of calories. You need more food than most girls your height – and most girls your height eat twice as much as you do. Katie, you're starving yourself."

"I'm not! I'm fine!" she cried, head snapping up, eyes blazing but also filled with tears.

"Your coach is trying to turn you anorexic! She wouldn't even let you eat popcorn on your birthday!"

"And I broke that rule, didn't I? And I paid the price for it."

My eyes widened. "How? What did she do to you?"

She chewed on her lip. "It's not – it's not important…"

"Well, it obviously has something to do with this. So, what happened?"

"She wants me to stay under one-thousand calories until I lose two more pounds!" she spat. "Okay? So yes, fine. She's turning me into an anorexic. If I don't lose the weight or if I cheat on my 'diet' again, she'll make me go down to five-hundred calories."

I stared at her in complete horror.

"Fuck this," she mumbled, throwing her napkin and fork down. She got to her feet, and the next thing I knew, she was dashing out of the building. I leapt to my feet and followed her, quickly catching up with her. I grabbed her, spinning her around to face me. Tear tracks streaked her face and her body was racking with silent sobs. I wordlessly enfolded her in my arms, holding her tightly, stroking her hair and letting her cry herself out.

It took a few minutes, but at least her breathing began to even out and her body stopped shaking. She let out a long breath, burying her face in my chest, and I pulled her even closer to me.

After a long moment, she pulled away from me, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For freaking out on you like that. For acting like such a girl."

"You are a girl," I pointed out. "And if it was me, I'd probably be freaking out too. Your coach shouldn't be allowed to get away with this."

"Yeah, well, she is. She's one of the best in California, and as my dad constantly reminds me whenever I complain about her, we're lucky to have her. She's gotten me through competitions."

"Kendall mentioned that she did this to you last year as well…"

She looked down, but didn't answer me.

"You can't listen to her. This is going to kill you," I said quietly. "If your parents won't get you a new coach, then just don't follow her orders. She doesn't have any right to tell you what you can and can't eat anyway – she's not a nutritionist."

"I know."

I slung an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's go back inside and see if our food's still there. Do you want something else?"

She bit her lip. "I love deep fried curly fries…"

"I'll get you some."

"You don't have to – I can pay – "

I shook my head. "My treat. I'm the one who's turning you into a rebel."

She let out a giggle. "Okay. I should protest, but I won't."

"Good. Because I'm a stubborn ass and I won't budge."

"Well, you need to budge if you want to get back to eating." She lifted her leg to playfully shove her foot into my ass, pushing me forward.

I dragged her back into the concession stand and got her the fries. We sat back down where we had been before. Luckily, they hadn't cleared out our food yet, so I got to finish off my burger and my own fries and onion rings.

Katie took her time with the fries, eating them slowly as if she was savoring every bite. It made me wonder how long it had been since she had last eaten them.

We finished a little while later, and got to our feet to throw our garbage away and bundle back up. It really wasn't as cold as it had been in Minnesota, but after having weather that remained above sixty degrees, it felt like we were in Antarctica.

"So, do you just want to walk around?" Katie asked me once we were outside.

I nodded. "Sure. Feel like showing me around this area of town on foot?"

"Sounds good." She smiled at me and we set off together, walking down the sidewalk.

"So…there's something I want to clear up," I said after a couple minutes of silence.

She looked at me. "What?"

"You know how you said on Monday that I wasn't a virgin?"

"Uh huh."

"Well…I never got the chance to correct you – and this is a really stupid thing to be correcting you on – but I actually am one."

She stopped dead in her tracks. "You are?" she looked as shocked as Logan and Kendall had.

I nodded. "Yeah. Why is everyone so surprised?"

"Uh, because you're James Diamond and you're super hot and pretty much every girl in the school has had a wet dream about you?"

I raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed slightly.

"I'm just sayin'…"

"Sure…"

She twiddled her thumbs innocently. "My point is, hot guys with hot cars are never virgins."

"But that's just a stereotype," I protested. "Like – like the thing with Shane and me."

"Huh?"

"Well, everyone assumes that I'm the gay one because I care about my appearance and fashion, and Shane couldn't care less about either both days. It's one reason why my dad made me quit skating – he was afraid I was turning into a girl."

Katie held up her hand. "Wait, wait, wait – your dad made you quit skating? That's why you're not doing it anymore?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, that's stupid. Why would he think that it would turn you into a girl?"

"Because he _is_ stupid. He cares about appearances a little too much, and what anyone else wants comes second to that. He made me quick drama, choir, and dance because of that too."

"You were involved in the performing arts?"

I nodded. "They were to me what hockey is to Shane and your brother – what figure skating is to you."

"And he made you quit?"

"Yeah."

"Did you do any plays?"

"Yeah, I did a lot of theater when I was in elementary school."

"And you loved it?"

"Yeah, more than anything."

"Excuse my French and the insult to your dad, but he is a royal fucker."

"I know."

She shook her head, looking stunned. "I can't believe someone would do that to their own kid. Did he make Shane quit stuff?"

"Nope. Shane did the _right_ stuff for boys – baseball, basketball, and soccer."

"Does your dad know he's gay?"

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't, but I'm also pretty sure he wouldn't care. As long as Shane doesn't appear to be _a fairy_, he's fine." I heard the venom erupt into my voice, sharpening it.

"That's even stupider. He's, like, a weird closeted homophobe who isn't even a homophobe!" Katie cried. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"I know. But I could be completely wrong, considering he was so afraid of me turning out gay."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to see how he reacts when Shane comes out to him. God. I hate people like that. Jett Stetson's a lot like that, but Kyle can kick his ass, so he doesn't say anything." She crossed her arms. "Don't ever introduce me to him, okay? Because I don't want to get arrested for aggravated assault."

I stared at her, amazed at how indignant she was on my behalf. She looked like she was about ready to go kick down a couple of lamp posts.

She returned my stare, before turning around and beginning to walk again. I matched her pace, watching her out of the corner of my eye. Her fists were clenched and her jaw was set.

"It's one of the reasons why my parents divorced," I said after a few moments.

"What?"

"My dad making me quit so many things…My mom couldn't stand that, so she left him."

"Why didn't you ever start back up?"

"I just…I don't know. I still saw my dad on the weekends and stuff, and whenever he found out that I had gone ice skating or something with some friends, he got really pissed off. So…I just stopped. I was tired of him getting mad at me. It just didn't seem worth it anymore."

Katie reached out and took my hand, entwining my fingers with hers. "You should start back up again. At the very least with drama and choir and dance. You can take those classes next quarter. I'd even join you in drama – I've always wanted to take a drama class, just to see what it's like. Have you been in the theater yet?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet."

"Well, in that case, come on. The school's not too far away, and it's open tonight because of a swim meet."

"But is the theater open?"

"Should be, it usually is. They keep it open because kids like to study in there or practice oral presentations and stuff. Come on." She pulled me down the street, and about ten minutes later, we reached the school. We crossed the parking lot and she led me to the performing arts building. She yanked the door open and we slid in. She fumbled around for a moment, before finding the light switches and flicking them on. The theater lit up dramatically and brilliantly, and my breath caught in my throat.

I had forgotten how powerful it felt to be in a theater, the space open like an amphitheater. The seats were red, as were the drapes on the wall and the stage curtains. The stage itself was oak, sturdy and wide, with stairs leading up to it.

My feet, of their own accord, began moving me down the aisle between the rows of seats, propelling me towards the stage. I passed by the orchestra pit and mounted the stairs, quickly drawing level with the stage.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out onto it and crossed it, before spinning around on my heel to face the almost empty theater. Katie had taken a seat in the front row, looking up at me.

"You look like you belong up there," she commented. "I know that sounds weird, but it's like you and the stage have chemistry."

"Great, now I'm having a romantic relationship with the stage." I choked out a breathless laugh.

"I can't explain it…You just look like you belong there."

"My mom said that the very first time she saw me on a stage."

"I can believe it." She paused, and then tilted her head. "Act something out for me."

"I'm sorry?"

"Act something out for me. A scene from a TV show or something. A monologue."

I bit my lip, a monologue popping into my mind at once.

"Do it," she urged me. "I can see it in your face – you want to."

"I haven't – I don't…I don't know…"

"Do you have one in mind?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you remember it all?"

"Yeah. I did it for my English class last year."

"And you still remember it?" her eyes widened.

"Well…yeah…"

"Do you have a photographic memory or something?"

"No…I just remember lines well."

"I'll say…Well, come on, Jamie-Bear. I want to hear it, and I know you want to do it."

I wordlessly nodded, and moved to the center of the stage: "'_'Tis only title thou disdain'st in her, the which__I can build up. Strange is it that our bloods,__  
__Of colour, weight, and heat, pour'd all together,__  
__Would quite confound distinction, yet stand off__  
__In differences so mighty. If she be__  
__All that is virtuous, save what thou dislikest,__  
__A poor physician's daughter, thou dislikest__  
__Of virtue for the name: but do not so:__  
__From lowest place when virtuous things proceed,__  
__The place is dignified by the doer's deed:__  
__Where great additions swell's, and virtue none,__  
__It is a dropsied honour. Good alone__  
__Is good without a name. Vileness is so:__  
__The property by what it is should go,__  
__Not by the title. She is young, wise, fair;__  
__In these to nature she's immediate heir,__  
__And these breed honour: that is honour's scorn,__  
__Which challenges itself as honour's born__  
__And is not like the sire: honours thrive,__  
__When rather from our acts we them derive__  
__Than our foregoers: the mere word's a slave__  
__Debosh'd on every tomb, on every grave__  
__A lying trophy, and as oft is dumb__  
__Where dust and damn'd oblivion is the tomb__  
__Of honour'd bones indeed. What should be said?__  
__If thou canst like this creature as a maid,__  
__I can create the rest: virtue and she__  
__Is her own dower; honour and wealth from me._

_My honour's at the stake; which to defeat,__  
__I must produce my power. Here, take her hand,__  
__Proud scornful boy, unworthy this good gift;__  
__That dost in vile misprision shackle up__  
__My love and her desert; that canst not dream,__  
__We, poising us in her defective scale,__  
__Shall weigh thee to the beam; that wilt not know,__  
__It is in us to plant thine honour where__  
__We please to have it grow. Cheque thy contempt:__  
__Obey our will, which travails in thy good:__  
__Believe not thy disdain, but presently__  
__Do thine own fortunes that obedient right__  
__Which both thy duty owes and our power claims;__  
__Or I will throw thee from my care for ever__  
__Into the staggers and the careless lapse__  
__Of youth and ignorance; both my revenge and hate__  
__Loosing upon thee, in the name of justice,__  
__Without all terms of pity. Speak; thine answer_.'" I finished with a sharp, fiery look at the audience, before falling silent, breathing hard.

There was a long silence, before Katie began clapping. I bowed, smiling widely. That had felt _amazing_. It had been such an adrenaline rush, leaving me gasping for breath and my heart pounding, as if I had just run a 5K.

After several seconds, Katie spoke: "What was that from?"

"Shakespeare's play: _All's Well That Ends Well_. It's the king's monologue. There's a part where Bertram and Helena cut in, but I edited it out."

She blinked at me. "I have no idea who Bertram and Helena are, but okay, cool. Anyway," she smiled up at me. "That was amazing. I had no idea what was going on, but you were so intense, so passionate. James, you have to get back into acting. If you don't, I'll never forgive you. Your dad's not here to stop you," she added in a wheedling voice.

I bit my lip, before nodding. If I could have more of that, then I would be more than willing to face my dad's wrath about it. But Katie was right, he wasn't here to stop me from doing what I wanted to. "I'll do it. I'll sign up for a drama class next quarter."

She beamed, leaping to her feet and rushing onto the stage. She threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly, before kissing my cheek. "You're going to be amazing! One day, I'll be able to say that I knew James Diamond _when_…"

As clichéd as it was, I literally felt my heart swell at her words. I had a feeling that she was right – this really was going to be amazing.

It was past eleven by the time Shane texted me to let me know that the movie was over. But he put in that we could take our time – and then he made sure to add in a winky face.

Katie and I headed out, making our way back to the school. We chatted as we walked, talking about nothing in particular, stuff like favorite colors and food. It was close to midnight by the time we reached the drive-in parking lot. We strolled over to Kyle's car, but froze as we approached.

Even through the tinted windows and dim light, it was obvious that Shane and Kyle were kissing, hands all over each other.

Katie looked at me. "I really hate to break up this little love fest…"

"I do too…"

"Come on, let's go get in your car. I'll text Kyle to let him know we're here, but that he can spend a little more time with Shane, okay?"

"Perfect." I unlocked my car and we climbed in.

"I like this car," she said. "It's nice."

"Thanks. It was a sixteenth birthday present from my grandparents."

"Are you close with them?"

"Yeah. In fact, they actually live out here. It's one of the reasons why my mom chose La Castillo when she was trying to figure out where we should move. Throwing darts at a wall map wasn't working, so she went for her roots."

Katie chuckled. "Still, that's pretty cool. Do you see them often?"

I shook my head. "They're on vacation, actually. They'll be back around Thanksgiving, though."

"Okay. Where're they at right now?"

"I think they're somewhere in Hawaii, but I'm not too sure about that."

"Lucky people. I'd love to be in Hawaii."

"Right? They should've brought the town's teenagers with them."

"Definitely." She grinned at me and I grinned back.

"Thanks for being there for me tonight," she said quietly. "With my problems and everything…I really appreciate it."

"It's not a problem. And thanks for showing me the theater. That was – that was amazing."

She smiled again. "Yeah, it was."

Before I could think about what I was doing, I was leaning in, and she was moving towards me too. I could feel her breath on my lips…Her phone beeped loudly.

Un-fucking-believable. So close…So fucking close…

She jumped back and pulled her phone out. "Oh, it's Kyle. He and Shane are done for now. Um…so…I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later…"

With a glance at me over her shoulder, she opened the car door and climbed out, exchanging seats with Shane, who slid in a split second later. He grinned at me, lips swollen, cheeks flushed, and hair tousled.

"You look like a hot mess," I informed him.

"I know." His grin widened. "Isn't it great?"

Shaking my head and laughing to myself, I put my seatbelt on and started the car. I glanced towards Kyle's SUV again and I caught sight of Katie right before she closed the passenger door. She looked at me and our eyes locked for a long moment. For the second time that night, my breath caught in my throat, and my heart began thumping loudly. But then there was the sound of an engine backfiring, and our focus was broken.

With a sigh, I put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking spot, with Kyle behind me. Time to head home and dream about what could have been…what almost was…

* * *

_**So...what'd you guys think? Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Wanna hug it? The review button would love to have some holiday cheer, so click on it and it'll be super happy. It might even drink eggnog and sing "Deck the Halls" ;P So, review and let me know what you guys thought of this! I love hearing from you all - your reviews make my day that much better :)**_

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_**And if I don't update before Christmas, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Love you guys!**_


	12. Chapter 12: Karaoke Night

_**Chapter 12 is up! Late Merry Christmas, everyone!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush, or any of the songs or artists mentioned and used in this chapter.**_

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_**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, FAVORITED, FOLLOWED, OR READ THIS STORY! You're all amazing! *Virtual hugs, cookies, and cake*.**_

_**I'm not going to lie, this isn't my best work. I have a tendency to type these chapters out really late at night, in the space of a couple of hours, and this one is no exception. So if the writing isn't that good, or the descriptions are lacking, that's why. Just thought I'd warn you guys ahead of time ;) Oh, and there's a bunch of songs in this chapter, and they're not there randomly, they're there to describe James and Katie's emotions and feelings towards each other.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Karaoke Night**

**James' POV**

There was no doubt about it. None at all.

I had fallen hard and fast for Katie, and if the fact that she had been leaning in when we had _almost_ kissed, she had fallen just as hard and fast for me.

The almost kiss was on my mind during the drive home, constantly replaying in my head. I found myself running through different scenarios in my mind, scenarios where we had actually gotten to have the kiss, without something interrupting us. So…damn…close.

"You've been really quiet," Shane commented as I pulled into the driveway. I frowned a little as I noticed a dark Toyota Yarus parked on the curb in front of the house. Shane glanced out the window, seeing it too. "That's weird," he commented. "Think Mom has a friend over?"

I looked at the house. All the windows were dark, the only light coming from the house being the porch light. "Doesn't look like it. Maybe one of the neighbors' has someone over and they parked in front of our house for some reason."

"Yeah, maybe."

I parked the car and shut off the ignition, before climbing out. Shane followed me. We headed inside and he closed and locked up the door while I flipped off the porch light.

"So," Shane said to me as we crept upstairs, "anything happen with Katie?"

"A few things…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but not what you're thinking. But we were _thisclose_ to kissing when we were interrupted – Kyle texted Katie to let her know that you guys were ready to go."

Shane winced. "Oh, man, talk about bad timing…"

"I know…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's not your fault. But we talked and she showed me the high school theater and she talked me into taking a drama class next quarter."

Shane grinned at me. "About time. I've been trying to talk you into it for ages."

"I know. But seeing the theater tonight…Dude, I had to do it again. I did a monologue from _All's Well That Ends Well_ and it was incredible. I have to get back into it, I can't let that feeling go, not again."

"Good. You should have never had to give it up before in the first place."

I sighed. "I know. But Dad – "

"Well, screw Dad. He doesn't have control over you anymore. And Mom wants you to continue with it too."

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to. You and Mom are both going to get your wishes." I grinned at him, and he grinned back.

"About freaking time."

"Agreed." I nodded. We had reached our bedroom doors by this point. "So…how was the making out?"

Shane's grin widened, blushing a little. "It was…um…pretty good."

"I bet. Looked like you two were enjoying yourselves."

"Just a little." He blushed even more.

I grinned again and opened my door. "Have fun dreaming about Kyle. Good night, little brother."

"Have fun dreaming about Katie," he retorted as he opened up his own door. "Good night, big brother."

I went through the usual motions to get ready for bed, and crawled in-between the sheets. Another night, another dream, dedicated to Katie Knight…What the hell was I going to do about her?

"_James…" her voice was breathy, but whiny at the same time as I pushed my body up against hers. She stumbled back slightly, gripping my shoulders tightly, before falling into the desk. Katie looked up at me, chest heaving as her fingers scrabbled, trying to get my shirt off. She finally got the buttons undone and dove for my jeans, pushing them down my legs. "Wanted you like this for so long…" she moaned out, before pressing her lips to mine, pulling me down so that the desk was holding both her weight and a good portion of mine. "What took us so long?"_

_I got her ice skating dress off, letting it fall to the floor. "I'm an ass and you're a brat?"_

"_Yeah, that works." She kissed me passionately, trying to bring me down even closer to her. I moaned licking at her bottom lip. She opened her mouth at once and I slid my tongue in, trying to crawl on the desk even though it was rocking slightly under my weight._

"_Don't break it," she laughed slightly._

"_Well, lay somewhere else."_

_She pulled back. "Make me."_

"_Get on the floor or something."_

"_You're not fucking me on the floor."_

"_Well, apparently I can't fuck you on the desk."_

"_Figure something out," she retorted. "Because you're not fucking me on the floor."_

"_How about against the wall?"_

"_No way." She pushed me off of her and sat up._

"_Fine. On a desk." I spread her legs, but she swung around on the desk, away from me._

"_I've changed my mind."_

"_You've – __**what**__?!"_

_She picked up her ice skating dress. "I don't date or sleep with hockey heads, and you're one of them. I'll go find someone else, I guess."_

"_But – but – "_

_She slipped into her dress. "Now, maybe if you were into theater or something, then maybe we could do this."_

"_But – but – I am! I'm going to take a drama class next quarter!" I protested._

_She shrugged. "Or maybe if you were a football player…"_

"_**What**__?!"_

"_Eh, whatever. You're not really that attractive anyway. Bye!"_

I woke up, hard and stiff and gritting my teeth. What the fuck had that dream been about?! Katie and I had been about to…do stuff…and then I had gotten cock blocked, by a fucking dream, no less! Un-fucking-believable.

I groaned, rolling over gingerly and checking the time. It was nine-o-clock AM. Fine. I'd get up. Or maybe I'd just finish what the dream had started.

Ten minutes later and I was still gritting my teeth. Every time I'd start on a new fantasy, Katie would just argue with me in it. This. Wasn't. Working! With a sigh, I decided to just let it run its course and see where that led me. Maybe there was something buried deep in my thoughts and subconscious that would help.

And help it did. Turned out, in my fantasies at least, that Katie and I were _amazing_ at anger sex.

Fifteen minutes later, I drudged out of my room to go downstairs. At least, because I was prepared and awake this time, there weren't dirty sheets for my mom to wash.

Speaking of my mother…

Or lack thereof…

…When there was a total stranger in the kitchen, wearing nothing but boxers and a t-shirt, and flipping pancakes. If he was a thief, then he was pretty bad at it. Criminals don't usually come into people's houses and make breakfast.

I cleared my throat. "Who the hell are you?!" Where, oh where was a hockey stick when you needed one?

The man turned around, looked at me for a long moment, and then said, "You must be James. I'm making breakfast."

"I see. What's your name, and who the fuck let you into the house?!"

He gave me a confused look. "My name's Brad…and your mom let me into the house…last night."

I dry gagged. "Wait – _you're_ the friend my mom was going out with? I thought – I thought – I thought her friend would have a vagina!"

"Sorry to disappoint…"

"Hey, what's all the noise?" Shane stumbled into the room wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt, rubbing his eyes. He blinked when he saw Brad standing at our stove, cooking breakfast. He immediately turned to me. "You hold him down and I'll punch him."

"Mom will kill us."

"Why? She hates when we stand around in our boxers in the kitchen. What makes you think she's going to be okay with a trespasser doing that, especially while handling our cookware?"

"He's the friend Mom went out with last night…"

Shane's eyes widened. "Ohhhh…"

"Yeah…"

Shane turned to Brad. "Are you gay?"

"No…"

"Yeah, you can't keep hanging out with our mom. Sorry. She only dates gay guys."

"Who only dates gay guys?" Mom bustled into the kitchen, wearing a silk robe. "Oh…I see you three have all met…"

Shane and I glared at her, while Brad just looked back and forth between us all, completely confused.

"Thanks for telling us about your friend," I said coolly.

"I was going to…I just didn't get the chance…"

"Uh huh, sure," Shane replied skeptically.

"I was!" Mom protested.

"Right, sure. Because that's why you didn't mention the fact that you were going out with a guy last night."

"I – well – this isn't the time or place to be discussing this," Mom finally retorted.

"Of course it's not," Shane mumbled. "Whatever." With that, he stalked furiously out of the room. I threw a glare at Mom and _Brad_, and followed him out.

The rest of the weekend passed by tediously. Shane and I barely talked to Mom, and by Sunday she had given up on reasoning with us. She ended up going out to dinner and a movie with Brad, who it turned out happened to be a firefighter. Perfect. Just fucking perfect.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that we don't want her to be happy with someone else, because we do. Our dad had remarried a couple of years ago, and we had both long since agreed that we wanted her to move on. But it wasn't exactly pleasant to just randomly find your mom's secret boyfriend cooking pancakes in your kitchen, half naked, without any warning. It had come as a major shock, and neither of us were getting past it any time soon.

As a result, it was quite a relief to get to school on Monday morning. It was raining lightly and for the first time since we had moved to California, the drive to school required windshield wipers and the heater and fan to be on, so that the windows didn't get too badly fogged up.

Shane stared out the window, not saying much. He had spent the better part of the weekend texting with Kyle, or chatting with him online, or talking to him on the phone. I, for my part, had wound up spending quite a bit of my time talking to Katie. We had texted back and forth, and then had interrupted our texting conversation to continue it online. Neither of us had mentioned the almost-kiss, but that was okay. I was hoping that that would change before long. The only downside to the weekend, besides my mom dating some firefighter, was that the dreams with Katie cock blocking me continued on. Well, no, that wasn't exactly true. She didn't cock block me in all my dreams. Sometimes we would get interrupted by my mom, or by Shane, or by Kyle, or by Kendall. But as a result, we never actually _finished_. Needless to say, this did nothing whatsoever to help my sexual frustration.

We finally reached the school and I parked. Shane and I headed inside together, and were immediately flagged down by Katie, Kyle, Camille, and Logan. Shane and Kyle grinned at each other, but since we were in the middle of a crowded hallway, they didn't do anything. Instead, Shane just moved a little closer to Kyle, who in turn shifted nearer to Shane.

"So," Camille began enthusiastically, "we were just talking about this new event that happens down at La Castillo College."

"La Castillo College?" I asked blankly.

"Yeah. It's the local community college. A lot of La Castillo High graduates go there for their Associate's Art degree before continuing on to a university. It's just across town. We have a lot of parties together. They supply alcohol, and we supply sleazy, desperate, insecure high school girls, so it all evens out." As she said this, she pushed her chest into Logan's side, who turned bright red, but he didn't try to push her away.

I grinned at him, before turning back to Camille. "So, what about the college? What new event happens there?"

"They have Karaoke Night on Saturday night."

"Ah. Sounds like fun."

"Right? So, I was thinking that it'd be awesome to go sometime. From what I've heard, you don't need to be legal to get in, and it goes from seven PM to midnight."

"Ah."

She nodded eagerly. "And Katie told me that you did some singing when you were younger, so…"

"I _mentioned_ that he did choir," Katie groaned. "I didn't mean for you to go searching for karaoke events for him!"

"I didn't. I heard about it on Facebook. Anyway, we should all go sometime. It'll be fun."

"Right." Katie rolled her eyes. "Getting up on a stage in front of complete strangers and singing off-key to lame pop songs. Sounds like a blast."

"Oh, come on, K, live a little," Kyle spoke up.

"I do live a little. I live enough to keep on breathing."

"Consider it your way of making fun of all the auto tuned songs that you hate."

"I don't hate auto tuned songs. I just think they don't sound as good as songs without auto tune do."

"Exactly. Come on, it'll be so much fun. Right?" he turned to Shane, who was biting his lip nervously.

"I'll go…" he said slowly. "But I'm not singing. That's James' area of expertise, not mine. I get stage fright."

"You and me both, bro," Katie told him with a nod. "But I'll watch."

Camille turned expectantly to Logan and me. "So, you guys will come, right? We can make it a little karaoke party."

Logan sighed, but I could tell he was about to relent. Sure enough, a moment later he said, "All right, I'll go. But I'm not singing either. I'll sit with Katie and Shane and watch."

Camille beamed, before looking at me hopefully.

"Fine," I said reluctantly. "But don't get your hopes up for a performance worthy of _American Idol_. I haven't sang in years."

"He sang last night," Shane said immediately.

"I meant, I haven't sang in front of an audience in years. And I haven't done any vocal exercises either."

"So? You still sound amazing. You'll probably be the best in the room – no offense," he added to Camille or Kyle.

"None taken," Camille replied, waving it aside. "So, we'll try to do it before Christmas break, okay? This Karaoke Night thing might only last this quarter, I'm not sure."

We all nodded, before Katie checked the time and informed us that we had five minutes to grab our stuff and get our asses to homeroom.

Despite Camille's insistence that getting to Karaoke Night was urgent, we didn't get the chance to go for the next month. Thanksgiving passed by, and before long, it was time to begin shopping for Christmas gifts. Shane and I still weren't happy with Brad, but we barely had to see him, and Mom didn't mention him very often, thank goodness. In the meantime, Katie and I continued to grow closer, talking on the phone almost every night, and texting each other off and on during homework. We'd hang out on the weekends, but always with Shane and Kyle, or with Logan and Camille, or sometimes both couples. Because of this, we didn't get the chance to have any more close kissing calls, or, well, to kiss at all. The sexual tension was rising every day, and I was beginning to think that if nothing happened to uncork it, it would be like the science experiment we had accidentally blown up in Chem. – it would explode. And I wasn't sure what that would mean for us.

But another problem was that, as stupid as it was, I was worried that if we didn't get together soon – if she even wanted to get together – then our friendship would dissolve. It had all but been formed on the basis of our sexual tension, and if things went bad, our friendship might disappear. I didn't want that to happen, not in the least. I liked being friends with Katie. At the very least, it was a step up from being pelted with volleyballs and dodge balls.

I probably would have actually made a move by December if it had been any girl, but the problem was, it was Katie Knight. Every now and then I would try to broach the subject of us possibly moving past friendship and into relationship territory, and she would remind me that she didn't date hockey players faster than you could say _rejection_. Not pleasant.

I got that she was afraid of what would happen if she dated a hockey player and he got injured, I did understand that. But I wished it didn't affect her decision making and her judgment so much. All I wanted was for her to give it a chance, which was why I kept pressing her about it.

Nevertheless, on the Thursday afternoon before Christmas break, I decided to try my luck again. We had had a test in English the day before, so we were really just doing a quick review of everything we had learned so far. Our finals weren't until January, which actually kind of sucked, but that was when we would get winter break, so that was something, at least.

"So…" I began, clearing my throat a little nervously. "I read somewhere that a lot of girls would love to date athletes."

Katie immediately glanced at me sideways, giving me a slightly annoyed look, as if to say, _Oh, dear God, are you starting this again_? Not exactly a positive reaction.

I plowed ahead anyway. "Especially hockey players. Girls love to date hockey players."

"Not this girl," she replied, sucking on the tip of her pen. "I'm never dating a hockey player."

I felt like banging my head against the table. Why did she have to be so fucking stubborn?! Why couldn't she just acknowledge the fact that there was something extremely powerful between us and just agree to go with it?! If I could do it, then why the hell couldn't she?! Why couldn't she just agree to date me?

"Right…Of course…I forgot." Grumbling under my breath, I turned back to my English textbook, trying to hide a slight scowl.

Katie tapped her pen against her paper. "Okay, you know what's really annoying?"

"What…?" I asked hesitantly, afraid that she would say _You and your constant pushing_.

"My parents and my brother. Kendall's convinced my mom to take him up to our uncle's for the weekend, so once again, I get to stay with my dad, who's hardly ever home."

"Why can't you go with them?" I wanted to know, looking up at her curiously.

"Because they need _guy time_."

"Unless your mom got a sex transplant, she's female."

"She'll hang out with my aunt, but my aunt and I don't really get along. Something about me being a facetious little brat."

I chuckled. "You are a facetious little brat."

"And she's a loud mouth lazy ass bitch. I think we're even."

Before I could respond, I felt a body drop into the chair beside me. I glanced over in that direction and saw that Logan and Camille had joined us.

"So," Camille said in a hushed voice, leaning in from where she was now sitting beside Katie, so that we could all hear, "I was thinking that we go to Karaoke Night this Saturday. You guys game?"

I nodded. "Sure, I'm up for it. Katie?"

"Yep. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys make asses out of yourselves," she grinned.

"Thank you so much for your resounding support."

"Not a problem."

* * *

**Katie's POV**

Saturday night came quickly. Camille insisted on coming over to my house that evening so that we could get ready together. Shane and Kyle were planning on driving over to the college together, and I knew Logan and James were going to take separate vehicles, so that Logan and Camille could go off somewhere afterwards and be alone. I wasn't sure just how much exactly I was looking forward to being alone in a car with James for a good fifteen, twenty minutes. Our tutoring sessions were getting harder and harder to handle, thanks to his constant hinting that we should maybe-possibly-definitely date.

I was aware that we should maybe-possibly-definitely date! I was very aware of it, as a matter of fact. But that didn't mean I was going to change my mind for one guy. I still didn't like hockey, and I wasn't going to get involved with someone who played it. The second we got into a relationship, my emotions, my feelings, for him would increase dramatically, and if he got hurt, I would be devastated. The idea of him getting hurt during practice or a game already scared me senseless. I didn't want to think about what would happen if we began to date and he suffered a concussion or some such injury. I just wasn't ready or willing to deal with it.

And yeah, maybe I needed to tell him that, but I had already let him know once. If he didn't remember, then that was his problem, not mine. Or maybe he was just hoping that I would change my mind for him.

I sighed as I worked my way through my closet, doing my best to put together a cute outfit. I was beginning to crack; I could feel it. I was getting pushed closer and closer to the point where, the next time he hinted that maybe we should start going out, I would reach over and kiss him senseless. That was what I had secretly wanted since the moment I first saw him, and that fantasy liked to make appearances at the most inopportune times – during algebra when I was texting him under the desk, while playing dodgeball with James in PE, while being tutored in English by him, while talking on the phone with him.

"You should sing tonight," Camille told me as she worked her way into her bustier top.

I stared at her. "First off, no way. And second, you're seriously wearing that?"

She nodded. "Yes, you should. And I found out on Halloween that Logan loves bustiers, but this is the first chance I've really gotten to wear one. I can't wait to see the look on his face when I take off my coat." She cackled and reached for a pair of skinny jeans.

I shook my head and let the subject drop, instead focusing on my clothes. I ended up settling on a pink and black skirt, a black t-shirt, black nylons, and black ankle boots. Pink hoops hung from my ears, and pink and black bracelets clunked on my wrist, while a black star necklace dipped down into the collar of my shirt.

I spun around in my mirror, making sure that the outfit looked absolutely perfect, before grabbing my makeup and heading into the bathroom.

When I came back out, Camille looked like she had just stepped out of a guy's wet dream. Her long, brown hair was all over the place in wild curls, her eyes were outlined in smoky eyeliner, and her lips were a deep red. The bustier top pushed her chest up, making it look like she was twice as large as she was, and the skinny jeans clung to her hips and ass.

Next to her, I looked like a prepubescent thirteen year old girl.

"Maybe I should change…"

Camille shook her head at once. "Are you kidding? You look amazing! James isn't going to be able to take his eyes off of you."

"I don't know…"

"Believe me, he's going to be drooling all over himself. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't slam you against the wall and have his wicked way with you."

I blushed. "Camille! Shut up! We're both virgins – you know that!"

"So? Maybe by the end of tonight you won't be."

"Shut up! My dad's home! I don't want him to hear us talking about James slamming me up into a wall and having his wicked way with me."

She shrugged. "Well, something to keep you warm tonight."

I shook my head. "Come on, let's head downstairs. The guys should be here any minute."

"Kay."

We made our way down the stairs, to the living room. Dad was on the couch, watching some weird movie from the '70s. All I knew was that it involved cars, cars, and more cars.

He put the movie on pause as we reached the living room. He smiled at me. "Hi, sweetie. Wow – you look beautiful."

I smiled back. "Thanks. You really think I look okay?"

"Well, you don't look as – _interesting_ – as Cami, but you look gorgeous."

Camille beamed at Dad. "You really think I look interesting?"

"Yeah…no doubt about that…"

"Thanks, Mr. Knight!"

Dad chuckled and shook his head. "What time are the boys picking you girls up?"

"Any second now," I told him.

"Okay. Well, remember your coats. It's going to get cold out tonight."

"We will." We grabbed our coats and purses from the coat closet, and a moment later, the doorbell rang.

Camille immediately threw the door open. "Oooh, it's both of our guys! Hi, Logie," she purred.

"Hey, Camille," Logan replied, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Yo, before you start making out, my dad's here," I informed him.

Camille pouted. "You don't mind though, right Mr. Knight?"

"Go out to the car, Camille," Dad replied.

"Fine. You're no longer the cool dad."

He laughed. "I didn't know I was ever the cool dad."

"Well, you're definitely not now." She grabbed Logan's hand and stalked out, swishing both her hips and her hair indignantly.

James and I looked at each other and simultaneously busted out laughing.

"Oh, gotta love Camille," James grinned.

"Always."

"You about ready to go?"

I opened my mouth to say "yep", but before I could, Dad got to his feet and walked around the couch to join us at the door.

"Hi," he said to James. "I'm Katie's dad, Kevin Knight."

"Hi, Mr. Knight. I'm James." They shook hands, and Dad nodded at me, before kissing the top of my head.

"Have fun tonight, sweetie." He headed back to watch his movie, and I stepped outside, closing the door behind me. James led me out to his car and we got in. We buckled up and he started the car, before pulling out of the driveway.

He reached over and switched on the radio. "Go ahead and pick a station," he told me, and I blinked. Shane had informed me once that James didn't like _anyone_ touching his radio, and yet here he was, letting me play DJ. Something about this didn't make sense.

I hesitantly began flipping through stations, eventually settling on a station that played a combination of both rock and pop. An Avril Lavigne song was playing at that moment, and I leaned back into the seat, willing myself to relax. I wasn't the one who was going to be performing that night. But that still didn't explain why I was so anxious.

About halfway through town, James asked me to direct him to the college, so I acted as his human GPS, telling him when and where to turn, and when it would be a good idea to go straight. I had only been to the college a couple of times, both times when they had been holding bake sales and my dad had dragged me there because he loved sweets, so I wasn't too familiar with the area, but I still managed to get us there in one piece, and on time as well. It was a miracle.

We parked in the visitor parking, right in-between Logan and Camille, and Kyle and Shane. The others were all gathered around, obviously waiting for us. We climbed out of the car and joined them, before letting Camille lead us to the building where Karaoke Night was located.

The building was titled the Recreational Center, though once we stepped into the main room, it didn't look like a Recreational Center at all. It had a club atmosphere to it, complete with disco balls, flashing lights, and a stage. Someone was already up on said stage, belting out a Carry Underwood song into the microphone, horribly pitchy and off-key. But hey, that's karaoke for you. You're not supposed to be good – karaoke was created so that you could get up onstage and make a complete idiot out of yourself and no one could laugh at you.

Sounds like my kind of activity.

Logan, James, and Kyle headed over to the bar to get drinks, and Camille, Shane, and I took seats at a round table towards the back. I tried to watch the guy who was performing, but my eyes kept wandering back to James. I could see him chatting and laughing with the guys as they waited for the drinks to come up.

I subconsciously licked my lips and let out a low breath. At that moment, one particular song popped into my head, and I decided right then and there that, no matter how awful I was, I was going to sing.

The guys returned a couple minutes later, passing the drinks around. James took a seat beside me, and I felt his leg brush against mine. I was seriously beginning to wonder if my rule about not dating hockey players was actually a good one. I definitely wasn't going to go through this for the rest of my life without some kind of outlet.

To distract myself, I took a sip of my drink, and turned back to watch the girl who was now onstage.

Unfortunately, having James beside me was a huge distraction. Every now and then, our legs would brush up against each other's, and maybe it was just me, but it kind of felt like our chairs were getting closer and closer together of their own accord. I certainly wasn't moving my chair closer to his, and it didn't look like he was doing it either. But for some reason, we went from being about a foot away from each other, to having about an inch of space between our seats.

Before our chairs could bump up against each other and act out the sexual frustration between James and me, I leapt to my feet. "I'm singing next."

Camille grinned and clapped. "Go Katie!"

"I was hoping you would," Kyle smiled at me.

"Have fun," James told me.

I nodded at all of them, before making my way up onto the stage. I knew from watching the other performers that we were each allowed two songs per turn, although we could come back up at any time for another turn. However, two songs were perfect for me. I had my songs picked out and ready.

I walked over to the guy who was controlling the tracks. "Do you have any Lesley Roy songs?"

He nodded. "Which ones do you want?"

"_When You Look At Me_ first, and then _Thinking Out Loud_ after."

"All right. Good luck."

"Thanks…"

I grabbed the microphone and braced myself. I had sang in church choir in elementary school, but once I had reached middle school, I had devoted pretty much all of my time to ice skating. So, I could sing – probably – but I wasn't going to be any good.

I looked out at the audience, searching for my friends. I quickly found them, and my heartbeat sped up as I locked eyes with James. Oh man…

The music swelled behind me, and right on cue, I began to sing:

"'_Everybody knows, everybody knows__  
__You're the kind of guy, kind of guy that a girl like me goes for__  
__Everywhere you go, everywhere you go__  
__People wanna know why you're alone__  
__Hanging out on the dance floor__  
__Ripped up jeans, tattooed sleeves__  
__So James Dean__  
__But you got it 'cause__  
__You're so hot__  
__I could die_

_'Cause when I look at you__  
__I wanna get a room, I wanna get a room__  
__Under all that cool__  
__I know you want it too, I know you want it too__  
__What's a girl gotta do to get you out of her mind__  
__And into the groove?__  
__'Cause when I looked at you__  
__I knew__(Ha ha)__  
__(Ha ha)__I've been waiting all night, waiting all night__  
__For the right time, right sign__  
__Just so I could finally make a move__  
__Cheesy lines from the wrong guys, drinking cheap wine, wasting time 'til the moment I can get to you__I walk over__  
__Now I get in closer, I'm trembling__  
__Now I see heaven in your eyes__'Cause when I look at you__  
__I wanna get a room, I wanna get a room__  
__Under all that cool__  
__I know you want it too, I know you want it too__  
__What's a girl gotta do to get you out of her mind__  
__And into the groove?__  
__'Cause when I looked at you__  
__I knew__  
__I knew, I knew__  
__I knew, I knew__  
__'Cause when I look at you__  
__I wanna get a room, I wanna get a room__  
__Under all that cool__  
__I know you want it too, I know you want it too__  
__What's a girl gotta do to get you out of her mind__  
__And into the groove?__  
__'Cause when I looked at you__  
__I knew__  
__'Cause when I looked at you__  
__I knew__  
__'Cause when I looked at you__  
__I knew__(Ha ha)_  
_(Ha ha)__  
__(Ha ha)__  
__(Ha ha)__  
__(Ha ha)_'," I finished with a deep breath. I'm not sure, but I had a distinct feeling that I had never looked away from James. He was still staring at me, at the very least, and even in the flashing, multicolored lights, I could see that his eyes were dark and smoldering. Okay…okay…focus…I had one more song to do. I could do this…

The applause that had erupted when I had finished singing died down as the next song began:

"'_I've been losing my mind  
I've been living a lie  
I've been running away for so long  
I try to put on a face  
And cover my heart  
But I'm needing it now, so bad_

_I don't know_  
_How I feel_  
_Maybe I'm mad_  
_Or maybe I'm proud_  
_Can't find the truth_  
_Can't speak my mind_  
_Don't know what I say_  
_I'm just thinking out loud_  
_Thinking out loud_

_No, no I can't explain_  
_What's happened to me_  
_I feel like I'm right and wrong_  
_Inside everything's upside down_  
_Everything spinning around_

_And it's freaking me out_

_I don't know_  
_How I feel_  
_Maybe I'm mad_  
_Or maybe I'm proud_  
_Can't find the truth_  
_Can't speak my mind_  
_I don't know what I say_  
_I'm just thinking out loud_

_If only for a day_  
_I could be free_  
_I'll __bet __you'll feel the same_

_If you were me  
I'm gonna scream it out  
Just let go!_

_I've been losing my mind_  
_I've been living a lie_  
_I've been running away for so long_

_I don't know_  
_How I feel_  
_Maybe I'm mad_  
_Or maybe I'm proud_  
_Can't find the truth_  
_Can't speak my mind_  
_I don't know what I say_  
_I'm just thinking out loud_  
_Yeah, I'm thinking out loud_  
_Thinking out loud_  
_Can't find the truth_  
_Can't speak my mind_  
_I don't know what I say_  
_I'm just thinking out loud_'."

The room broke out into applause and I gave my friends a wide smile, before hooking the microphone back up and jumping off of the stage. I walked over to them. "So…what'd you guys think?"

"You were incredible," James told me before any of the others could so much as open their mouths. "You were amazing." He smiled at me, and his eyes were bright, shining happily. He was proud of me for something that wasn't passing my English test…

I smiled back at him and sat down beside him. I had chosen the songs with him in mind, hoping that he would get what I wanted to say to him, but just couldn't quite put into words.

* * *

**James' POV**

Camille went on next. In usual Camille fashion, she chose a Lady Gaga song as her first choice, and she made a huge production of strutting her stuff across the stage.

But, admittedly, I was barely paying attention to her. I was too busy thinking of Katie and her songs. I was pretty sure she had never looked away from at all while she had been singing, like she had been singing to me. It made me wonder if she had directed the songs at me specifically. If so, that, in a way, had cleared some stuff up for me. She was definitely attracted to me – although, with our almost-kisses, there had hardly been any doubt left in my mind about that – but she was still confused as to what she should do.

I decided to use my song choices to let her know what I wanted and was hoping for, and I had two in mind.

Camille finished her set a couple minutes later, and Kyle jumped up, heading up to the stage. I smiled a little as I realized that his first song was Adam Lambert's song _Better Than I Know Myself_. I could see Shane's face splitting in a wide smile as he listened to Kyle sing. Whether or not Kyle was singing about him – and I had a feeling he was, considering the fact that Katie had most likely been singing to me, and Camille had definitely been singing to Logan – Shane's night had been made, and that alone was enough to make me happy.

But the night wasn't over yet.

Once Kyle finished his set, I got up and headed up to the stage.

The guy who was controlling the music looked at me. "What songs would you like?"

"Do you have Jason Derulo's song _In My Head_ and Lit's song _You Tonight_?"

"Yep. Jason Derulo first?"

"Please?"

"You got it. Lots of luck."

"Thanks." I walked over to the microphone and picked it up. Damn…I had missed being onstage…I had really missed it. It was nice to be back on one. I felt both comfortable, and yet elated, as I stood there, looking out at the audience and waiting for the music to begin. I quickly found Katie, and she grinned at me, giving me the double-thumbs up sign.

A moment later, the music began, and I started to sing:

"'_Everybody's looking for love, oh.__  
__Ain't that the reason you're at this club, oh.__  
__You ain't gonna find it dancing with him, no.__  
__I got a better solution for you girl, oh.__Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go.__  
__I'll be your teacher, I'll show you the ropes.__  
__You'll see a side of love you've never known.__  
__I can see it going down, going down.__In my head, I see you all over me.__  
__In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.__  
__In my head, you'll be screaming ohhhh__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head, yeah, in my head, oh yeah.__Some dudes know all the right things to say-ay.__  
__When it comes down to it, it's all just game.__  
__Instead of talking let me demonstrate. Yeah.__  
__Get down to business and skip foreplay. Yeah.__Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go.__  
__I'll be your teacher, I'll show you the ropes.__  
__You'll see a side of love you've never known.__  
__I can see it going down, going down.__In my head, I see you all over me.__  
__In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.__  
__In my head, you'll be screaming ohhhh__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head.__Break it down.__  
__Ay-oh-oh come on. Ay-oh ooh Ay-oh.__  
__You singing to me baby in my head right now.__  
__Ay-oh. Ay-oh ooh. Come on.__  
__She'll be screaming out when it all goes down.__Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go (we can go.)__  
__I'll be your teacher. I'll show you the ropes.__  
__You'll see a side of love you've never known.__  
__I can see it going down, going down.__In my head, I see you all over me.__  
__In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.__  
__In my head, you'll be screaming ohhhh.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__In my head, I see you all over me.__  
__In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.__  
__In my head, you'll be screaming ohhhh.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head, it's going down.__  
__In my head._'" I finished with a grin, and the audience exploded with applause. I gave a bow, chancing a glance at Katie, who was grinning while biting her lip. Yeah, I had a feeling my message had gotten through.

But in case it hadn't…

The next song began:

"'_Take another look__  
__And do you like what you see__  
__I've been standing here watching you watching me__  
__We can skip the get-to-know-you tell me everything__  
__I don't even need to know the truth__  
__Cuz all I wanna do is take a chance on you__The party ain't over__  
__But it's time to go__  
__Let's slip out the back__  
__And I'll drive you home__  
__We'll lock up the bedroom__  
__And leave on the lights__  
__I want you to see everything__  
__When I…you tonight__  
__[ Lyrics from: . ]__  
__Take another step__  
__A little closer to the edge__  
__I'll be waiting here just hanging on by a thread__  
__You don't need to say another word it's understood__  
__Turn around again I love the view__  
__And all I wanna do is put my hands on you__The party ain't over__  
__But it's time to go__  
__Let's slip out the back__  
__And I'll drive you home__  
__We'll lock up the bedroom__  
__And leave on the lights__  
__I want you to scream out my name__  
__When I…you tonight__I've been standing here watching you__  
__And all I wanna do is put my hands on you__The party ain't over__  
__But it's time to go__  
__Let's slip out the back__  
__And I'll drive you home__  
__We'll lock up the bedroom__  
__And leave on the lights__  
__I want you to see everything__  
__And I want you to scream out my name__  
__And I don't want you missing a thing__  
__When I tonight__  
__When I…you tonight'_." The music died out and everyone began clapping and cheering. I set the microphone back in its hook, and jumped down from the stage. I made my way over to the others and sat down beside Katie.

"Well…" she said, licking her lips, trailing her tongue slowly, tantalizingly over her mouth, "you could audition for _American Idol_ and win with no problem."

I grinned. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

After that, things began winding down in the makeshift karaoke club. People began to trickle out, slowly at first, and then in herds. Shane and Kyle decided to head out for some alone time – although, since Logan and Camille were with us, they told us they were going to go get hot chocolate or something – and Logan and Camille left for some spot in the hills surrounding La Castillo, where everyone ended up when they wanted to get it on with no parents walking in on them.

That left Katie and me. By the time Logan and Camille disappeared through the door, we were the only ones left. Even the DJ guy had vanished into thin air. We were all alone in the Recreational Center.

Katie got to her feet, stretching. "Come on, we should go too. We don't want to be kicked out, right?"

"Right…Um…" I licked my lips, feeling nervous again. Maybe it was just me, but it seemed like our feelings towards each other were right out in the open, and that now might have been a good time to make a move. "Are you sure you won't change your mind about dating a hockey player?"

She turned to look at me, her eyes darkening with anger. "I'm positive," she said in a steely voice, though I thought I caught a look of uncertainty flit across her face. "You need to stop asking me that, because it's never going to change."

Okay, fuck subtlety. She liked me. I liked her. End of story. It was as simple as that. She was the one who was making everything so fucking complicated.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest. "So you make a habit of almost kissing guys who you'll never date?"

"That – that was a moment of – of weakness…"

"And you always sing songs about how much you want them, to them?"

"That – you can't prove I was singing to you, about you."

"But you were." I took a step towards her. "You were singing about me, to me."

"Good luck getting me to admit it," she shot back, holding her ground. "Why can't you just accept that you and I will never happen?"

"Because you want this as badly as I do. I can see it in your eyes. You _want_ me. Why can't you just accept that that's never going to change?" I took another step closer to her.

"I don't date hockey players," she said simply, still not moving. "And you can't change my mind."

"I bet I can," I retorted, placing my hands on her shoulders and backing her towards the wall.

"I'd like to see that."

I've never been one to turn down a challenge, which is why I chose that moment to press my lips roughly against hers while slamming her into the wall simultaneously. She pulled me with her, yanking my body against hers, trapping herself between me and the wall.

I deepened the kiss, crushing our bodies together. She nipped at me, winding her arms around my neck to pull me even closer to her, and a moan escaped me. I nipped back at her once before pulling away.

I rested my forehead against hers, breathing heavily. "Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?" I murmured.

"That's one of the things you like so much about me," she replied, closing her eyes, still not letting me go.

"Touché."

"In your defense, you changed my mind about kissing a hockey player." And the next thing I knew, _I_ was the one backed up against the wall, with her pressing up against me as she kissed me forcefully.

That was how the janitor found us, still kissing, Katie's hands on my chest and my arms around her waist.

He got our attention and informed us that we needed to leave.

The only thought that crossed my mind as Katie and I walked out of the Recreational Center, my arm around her shoulders, was that there was no way in hell I was going back to the friend zone. No way.

* * *

_**Okay...so...yeah, okay. They finally kissed. About time, right? ;) And yeah, okay, I'm kind of squealing inside because yeah, they finally kissed. Anyway...did you guys enjoy the chapter? Are you happy that they finally kissed? Let me know, okay? The review button's depressed because Christmas is over, and I love hearing from you guys; it always makes my day that much better :) Love you guys!**_


	13. Chapter 13: Running the Bases

_**Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you...Chapter Thirteen!**_

_**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I didn't own Big Time Rush, Scarlet Haze, or any of their songs. Sorry to disappoint. Oh, and if any places mentioned in this chapter are real, it's entirely coincidental, I was trying to be original (somewhat). **_

_**Guest: For sure. They totally should have. Thank you for your review, I really appreciate it :)**_

_**btrluvr8: Your private messaging is disabled, so I thought I'd reply to you this way. Agreed, it totally is! Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it :)**_

_**misslittlemaslow: It's totally fine; and thank you for reviewing! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! :)**_

_**Guest#2: I'm really happy you think so! I agree, the lead up is always really interesting. Aww, thank you so much! That's so sweet! Well, I do my best ;P Right? They're adorable! Anyway, thank you for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it :)**_

_**Guest#3: Would your happy dance have anything to do with James and Katie finally kissing? ;) Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it! :)**_

**_THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, FAVORITED, FOLLOWED, OR READ THIS STORY! I LOVE YOU GUYS!_**

**_So, I completely forgot in the last chapter, but the credit for the idea for the kissing scene goes to my partner-in-crime/writing buddy Jatieluv. I was complaining (per usual) about James and Katie in this story, and she suggested the scene, and it really hit home plate. And thank you to Dana2184 for putting up with my 'teasing' when it comes with this story. Love you both so much!_**

**_Not a lot to say about this chapter, just that it's setting things up for later chapters, so ignore the fact that its a filler and just go with it, kay? ;)_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Running the Bases**

**James' POV**

It had gotten even colder than it had been when we had arrived on campus, and Katie shivered slightly as the wind picked up. I tightened my arm around her, and she leaned in closer to me.

"You know, you're right," she told me. "For California, it really is pretty cold."

"Told ya."

We reached my car a few minutes later, and we climbed in, not saying a word. I got the car started and the heater going before I had even put on my seatbelt. Once I was buckled in, I looked over at Katie. "Where to?"

She brushed her fingers over her lips, thinking hard. "I'm so tempted to say Lookout Point, where Camille and Logan are. Only you'd have to park really far away from them because I don't want to get caught."

"Can you direct me?"

"Quite possibly. I've never been there, but I know the general area. It's in the Dorado Hills. Do you know where they are?"

I nodded. Shane, my mom, and I had driven through them on our way out of La Castillo when we had gone on a day trip to the San Diego zoo.

"Okay, good. From what I've heard, at Dorado Pass, you make a left, as opposed to a right, and it should lead you right to it."

"Sounds good. So…are we going to talk this thing out, or are we just going to make out some more?" I wanted to know as I put the car in gear.

"James, do you really want to spoil the sexual chemistry with talking?" she asked me.

"Point taken." We would have to figure out what was going on between us at some point, but it was easy to see by the set of Katie's jaw that it would be a _really_ bad idea to push the topic.

"So," Katie spoke up as I navigated my way through the college parking lot, "you guys have another hockey game after Christmas break?"

I nodded. "On the Friday after we get back to school."

"Fun."

"Yeah. I hope we don't end up out of practice."

"I'm sure you guys will be awesome. You were insane at the other game."

"Thanks."

"Just telling the truth." She turned on the radio. "Oh, I forgot to tell you – Waddleburger caught me after class yesterday. She said that if I get a B on my English final, then I can go back to ice skating."

I grinned. "Awesome!"

"Right? She said she'd even settle for a B-minus at this point, because my work has improved so much. Can you believe it? I'm going to get to skate again!" she wiggled a little in her seat, looking excited. "And I'm sure I'll be able to get a B-minus at least, maybe even a B-plus!"

"I know you will," I told her honestly. "You've definitely improved since I first started tutoring you."

She beamed at me, and I smiled back, before quickly turning my attention back to the road.

We reached Dorado Pass before long, and I made a left turn at the fork in the road, instead of a right. Just as Katie had said, it led me straight to Lookout Point.

Within a couple of minutes, we began to pass by stopped cars. Through the windows, I could see the inhabitants grappling at each other. Well, okay then.

There was a large section at the top of the hill, but it was loaded with cars. I quickly spotted Logan's car, and Katie and I grinned, though we didn't stop to say hi.

I finally found a fairly private section of road, and put the car in park, before turning off the ignition.

The second I placed the keys in the cup holder, Katie was on me, lips like cherries and honey and everything sweet as she kissed me, her small hands smooth and soft as she cupped my face, her body tiny against mine.

She crawled into my lap so that she was straddling me, kissing me even more deeply. Her hips moved with mine as I began to kiss my way down her neck and then back up the other side, soft moans occasionally escaping from her lips. Her skirt rode up to her upper thighs, and I took the opportunity to run my hands over her legs. She grabbed my face and kissed me again, fingers entwining in my hair and yanking slightly.

We spent the next couple of hours simply kissing and exploring each other's bodies – above clothes, of course. But it was a good outlet for the sexual frustration that we had both been struggling with for the past two and a half months.

It was nearly two-thirty in the morning by the time I pulled up in front of Katie's house, and it was almost three by the time she finished saying goodbye to me, and stumbled out of my car, trying to smooth out her hair and clothes as she made her way up to her house. I grinned as I watched her, very proud of the fact that her hair was a mess, her lips were bitten and swollen, and her clothes weren't hanging quite right on her because of me.

I ran my fingers over my own bitten and swollen lips, and then trailed my fingers down to my neck, where I was pretty sure a hickey had formed.

I made sure she got into her house okay, before pulling away from the curb and driving home. I parked in the driveway and quietly snuck into my house.

I softly closed and locked up the door, before doing my best to tip-toe towards the stairs.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

I jumped about five feet in the air as the hallway light switched on, revealing my mother. She was wearing a pink, silk bathrobe over matching pajamas, and her arms were crossed.

"Ummm…" Damn it. I didn't have a single alibi prepared for this – probably because I hadn't thought tonight would actually happen.

Mom raised an eyebrow at me. "Well? I'm waiting."

"I was with Katie…" I admitted reluctantly. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I just thought you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. Besides, you're the one who pretty much told me that I didn't have a curfew."

She sighed. "Damn it. You're right. All right, fine. But next time – call. And I want you home by two-o-clock on the weekend, Mister. Your curfew has been reinstated."

I sighed too. "Fine."

"Good. Now…you were with Katie…" Her eyes scanned over me, taking in my messy hair, my swollen lips, my flushed cheeks, and my bedraggled clothes. "First thing tomorrow, I'm getting you condoms."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, and then I closed it. I still had no idea what Katie and I were, but if tonight was any indication, then the need for condoms might be in our foreseeable future. Maybe. And hey, even if it wasn't, then at least I'd have them, right?

"Wow, you're not even arguing," Mom stated, staring at me. "Tonight must have gone well for you."

"You could say that…"

"So, are you two together?"

"Define _together_."

"Are you dating?"

I shook my head. "She still won't date a hockey player. She just likes making out with me."

Mom raised her fingers to her temples. "I see…"

"Yeah, but she said I changed her mind about kissing a hockey player, so there's still hope for me changing her mind about dating a hockey player."

"Great…"

"And we like the same things," I added, getting on a roll. "It was amazing." I walked over to the couch and plopped down on it, smirking. "Tonight was incredible."

"I'm glad to hear that…" Mom slowly sat down beside me.

"I really hope tonight wasn't a one time deal. Because after tonight, there's no way I'm going back to the friend's zone. And I don't think she could ever see me as just a friend anyway, not with the way I made her moan and whimper." I grinned in satisfaction.

Mom continued to massage her temples. "You know how I encourage you to speak openly to me about sex and girls?"

"Yeah."

"I'm going to start encouraging you to speak a little less openly to me about sex and girls."

"Huh?"

"Turns out I can't handle hearing these details. I'm probably going to have nightmares now."

"Oops…sorry…"

"It's okay. Just…no more. Go tell your brother – he's still awake. I heard him talking on the phone to Kyle when I passed by his room on my way down. I'm sure he won't mind hearing the details."

"Probably not. Good idea. Thanks, Mom! 'Night." I kissed her cheek, before dashing up the stairs. I knocked on Shane's door, before bounding in.

The light was off, but I could see Shane sitting up in his bed, his phone pressed to his ear. He looked around at me when I came in.

"Hold on, Kyle," he said into the phone. "James just walked in and – _whoa_! Holy fuck! _Dude_! You look like you just had awesome sex or something! Kyle! He looks like he had sex with Katie!"

"I didn't have sex with Katie," I retorted, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, wait, damn. He didn't have sex with Katie."

"We did make out though."

"They did make out, though," Shane repeated back to Kyle. "Hmmm? Oh, okay. Check the text." There was a pause, and then Shane grinned. "Katie texted you? About tonight? About which part? Uh huh…uh huh…" his grin widened. "What did she say? Well, that definitely says good things about my brother's kissing skills. Yeah…yeah…Oh yeah. We're not going to be able to keep them off of each other, are we? Oh well. That's what we get for wanting them together. Guess it's just the price we pay. Well, I should probably talk to James and get the details in his words. You call Katie and see what you can get. Mmm hmm…mmm hmmm…Okay, talk to you in the morning. Good night." He hung up and grinned widely at me. "So, you and Katie finally kissed."

I nodded. "We finally did."

"So…?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. "Details! How was it? How did it happen? And why are you now just getting home?"

I plopped down beside him, kicking off my shoes and wiggling under the covers next to him. Shane looked over at me. "So…spill!"

I bit my lip, before leaping into the story, explaining what had happened, how we had been caught by the janitor, and where we ended up going after. By the time I was finished, Shane was smirking widely.

"Lookout Point, huh?"

"Yeah…And don't look at me like that! I know it's clichéd and stupid, but we needed some place to go. I mean, we had two and a half months worth of sexual tension to work out!"

"And did you get it all worked out?" Shane asked me, snickering.

"Well…no…But we got some of it out, at least. We have an outlet now, so things might be a little bit easier from now on."

"You can only hope." He patted my shoulder. "So, you two still haven't figured out if you're together or not?"

I shook my head. "We're more together than we were four hours ago, but yeah…We're not dating. She _still_ won't date hockey players!"

Shane gave me a long look. "Look…I like Katie – for the most part – and I know you two have a ton of chemistry, but is she really worth it? I mean, she won't date you, she'll only make out with you. If you two don't figure this thing out, you're going to end up with a friends with benefits relationship, and I'm pretty sure _you_ at least don't want that to happen."

I sighed. "Don't think it hadn't occurred to me."

"Is it worth that? Is it worth being used by her?"

"Well, I'd be using her back, right?"

"But you're the committing-type. She's obviously not, at least when it comes to hockey players. I don't want you getting hurt. You were crushed after she turned you down for the dance, and you were still pretending you didn't like her. Now that you've admitted that you have feelings for her and you two have gotten a little physical, it's going to be even worse if she changes her mind. Please, James. Please be careful."

"I will be," I promised. "I won't let Katie hurt me, I swear it."

"Good. I'd rather you be sexually frustrated than broken hearted."

"I don't know…sexual frustration can be painful."

Shane smacked me.

"Ow! I'm joking!"

"You better be."

"I am."

"Good." With that, he sighed and dropped his head down onto the pillow, closing his eyes. I laid my head down beside him, but before I could close my eyes, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out and checked the text. I grinned a little when I saw that it was from Katie. I opened it up and blushed a little, but my smirk still widened: **Dream about me tonight ;)**

I quickly texted her back: **As long as you dream about me ;)**

With that, I rolled out of Shane's bed, and headed to my own room. The integrity of his sheets were risked enough by him – they didn't need to be risked by me. I stripped down to my boxers and threw myself into my bed. I conked out within seconds.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

"I can't believe you had him take you to Lookout Point."

I grinned and chuckled as I gripped my phone a little more tightly. "Oh, like you would have passed up an opportunity to go there with Shane," I retorted, and smirked as I heard sputtering on the other end of the line. "Oh, come on, Kyle, you know it's true."

"Whatever." He harrumphed. "So, did you two get things worked out?"

I walked down the stairs. "Nope."

"Why not?"

"Well, he wanted to talk, but I wanted to focus on the physical aspects."

"And they say teenage boys are horny…"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not horny. He just…gets me going."

"TMI! TMI!"

"What? Seriously, I feel like I'm in that Scarlet Haze song, _Can't Get Enuff_. If we hadn't had to be back before sunrise, who knows what would have happened?" Without further ado, and with much hip shaking and ass wiggling, I broke out into song: "_Whoa-oh/Whoa-oh/I can't get/Can't get enough tonight/Whoa-oh/Whoa-oh/Lay me down and leave on all the lights_ – " I broke off abruptly as I finished wiggling my hips into the living room. My dad sat on the couch, staring at me, clutching at his cup of coffee like he was drowning and it was a lifesaver.

I coughed feebly. "Hi, Daddy! I was just talking to Kyle!"

He wordlessly nodded, staring at me a little worriedly.

I gave him my most innocent smile, before scurrying into the kitchen. On the other end of the line, Kyle was roaring with laughter.

"That was perfect timing," he choked out. "_Hi, Daddy_!" he imitated me, making his voice unnecessarily squeaky and high pitched.

"Did your voice finally crack?" I shot back as I dug out a box of cereal from one of the cabinets.

"Nope, but yours did when you were talking to your dad," he snickered.

"Oh, shut up."

"At least you didn't sing their song _Reach Down_," he replied, still sounding unduly amused. "Now _that_ would have freaked him out."

"I'm not going to say anything else until you start talking about something else."

"As you wish, K."

I shook my head and grabbed the milk from the fridge. I got my hands on a bowl and a spoon, and fixed myself a bowl of cereal, before sitting down at the kitchen table with it.

"Anyway, have you heard from James since last night?" Kyle asked me.

I took a bite of cereal and chewed slowly, before swallowing so that I could answer. "Not since his text about dreaming."

"Ah. Want me to text Shane and have him hint to James to call you or something?"

"Nah, that's okay. Besides, it's not like James and I are dating or anything. We're just friends."

"Friends who went to Lookout Point!" Kyle cried, sounded very scandalized. He paused for a moment, before asking, "Did you have to wear cover up?"

I blushed and was extremely glad that he couldn't see my face. "I – yeah – a little…"

"Friends don't leave hickeys and force other friends to wear cover up!"

"Some friends do."

"Yeah – friends with benefits! Do you want to be friends with benefits with James, Katie?"

"No, but it's something, right?"

Kyle sighed. "Look…I wasn't going to tell you this, but Shane texted me last night, after James got home."

"Good for him?"

"He said James won't stick around if it's just a friends with benefits relationship, it's not his style. He wants commitment, an actual relationship."

I sighed, taking another bite of cereal. "Well, what am I supposed to do?" I demanded through my mouthful of cereal.

"Um…agree to be his girlfriend?"

"Besides that."

I heard a thud and Kyle say "Ow!"

"What happened?"

"I banged my head into the fridge."

"Why…?"

"Because you're impossible! If you don't want to date him, then tell him and don't make out with him anymore!"

"But I don't like that idea," I whined. "I don't want to tell him that I don't want to date him and I want to keep making out with him."

"So, basically, you want to have your cake and eat it too."

"Pretty much."

He sighed. "You know, I don't understand you. You've got feelings for him, but you don't want to go out with him. What the hell is up with that?"

"He's a hockey player, Kyle."

"So's Shane."

"Yeah, but…everyone in my family has something to do with hockey. And both my dad and brother have gotten seriously injured. I'm not going to go out with a hockey player, not when they could so easily get hurt. It's not worth the worry."

Kyle sighed again. "And you won't change your mind?"

"Not right now. Maybe eventually I'll be able to, but right now, I just can't. And James knows that. He knows I won't date a hockey player, but he still kissed me, he still agreed to go to Lookout Point with me."

"He's going to try to change your mind; you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. He told me he was going to."

"So…what're you going to do?"

"No idea. Help me get past this?"

"Past what, exactly?"

"This – thing – with not dating hockey players because I'm scared."

"Well, you're always going to be scared, no matter what."

"Which sounds like a really good reason why I shouldn't date one."

Kyle groaned. "I just want to point out right now that your reason's stupid. I really don't know why you're still sticking with this when you want to be with James." He groaned again, before relenting. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you!" I chirped. "So…I need to figure out how to keep James' interest until I work through whatever I need to work through."

"Which sounds like commitment issues to me," Kyle informed me. "You're just using the whole hockey-player-thing as an excuse not to commit to James."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? Is it, really?"

"Yes, it really is."

"Whatever you say, K."

"Anyway," I continued on, "what should I do to keep James' attention?"

"How the hell should I know?!"

"You're a guy."

"And I'm gay! Believe me, I'm not the one you should be asking."

"Well, let's just pretend you're straight for a moment."

"Oh, goody."

"If you were straight, what would you want from a girl?"

"I don't know, maybe second base?"

"Second base? You'd want baseball?"

There was another thud. "Ow! I need to start banging my head against softer stuff!"

"What did I say?" I asked blankly.

"_Second base? You'd want baseball_?" he repeated back to me.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't mean baseball…"

"Then what do you mean?"

"Katie…second base is under the shirt action."

"Oh." I blushed again, and quickly spooned some cereal into my mouth. "Oops."

"Right. You and James got to first base last night, so I guess second base will be next."

"What's third base?"

"Um…I think it's either fingering or oral sex, or both, but I'm not positive on that. And you can probably guess what a homerun is…"

"Okay, seriously, who uses baseball to describe sex?" I demanded. "That's seriously the least sexy thing I've ever heard. That's just lame. The person who came up with that analogy obviously couldn't get laid."

"Um…actually, the terms came around in the 1920s, and were used by guys were needed a way to describe how far they were going with girls on dates…"

"Well, that's stupid. Couldn't they have come up with something better?"

"Uh, no."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, thanks for the history lesson, K. Now, don't you go have a certain Diamond brother to go get some third base from?"

He gasped sharply. "Katie!"

"Oh, like you don't want to. God. Stop acting like you're a saint and all pure and everything. Just admit you want sex."

"It's awkward talking to you about this stuff."

"Why?"

"Because it's _you_! You're like my little sister."

"I'm older than you by four months."

He let out a huffy breath. "You're still like my little sister."

"Whatever, lil' bro."

He chuckled. "So, good luck figuring out what to do about James."

"Can't you help a little more?"

"No! That's just gross. I already feel nauseous as it is, I don't want to make it any worse."

"Fine."

"Fine. I'll talk to you later, K."

"Yeah, later, K." We hung up and I set my phone down on the table, before turning back to the rest of my cereal.

I didn't hear from James until after I got out of the shower. As I walked back into my room, toweling my hair dry, my phone buzzed from where it was laying on my nightstand. I crossed the room and picked it up, opening the text: **Hey, so, was last night just a one time thing?**

I bit my lip, trying to figure out how I should reply to him. At last, I typed in: **Well, I liked kissing you, and I definitely don't want it to be. Do you?**

He texted me back a couple minutes later with, **No, not at all!**

**Good**, I responded, and then tossed my phone to the side so that I could get dressed.

A little while later, Camille texted me to see if I wanted to go grab coffee with her, and I agreed at once, so I put on some makeup and grabbed my purse. Before I could leave the house, however, my dad intercepted me.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," he told me as he sat me down on the couch beside him.

"Dad, seriously, I was just joking around with the song this morning."

He paused, before shaking his head. "That's not what I want to talk to you about."

"Oh. It's not?"

"Nope."

"Then is it because I got in really late? Because, I swear, I was safe the entire time. I was James, and he's totally trustworthy – well, not really, but he's a really sweet guy and he really likes me, and you'll like him once you get to know him, I promise – "

He held up his hand. "No, it's not that either, although now that I think about it, you did break curfew last night."

I looked down at the ground, adapting an appropriately ashamed and humble expression.

"Since it's the first time, I'll let it slide."

I perked up. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Uh huh…"

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, you know how I have a membership to the Holly hotel's All Access club?"

I nodded. The Holly hotel was a resort in a small group of mountains in northern California. The headquarters for my dad's business was in that area, so he stayed there on a regular basis. As a result, he chipped out a little extra money to be a member of the All Access club, which meant that he got really nice rooms for half off what he normally would have paid, or he got to bring extra guests, or some such thing.

"Well, for this upcoming week, they offered me a special where I could get five rooms for the price of two, but I'm actually going to be traveling to New York."

"Oh, okay."

"But I thought maybe you and your brother and your friends would like the rooms. They're nice rooms, and I'd pay for them. You'd have to take care of your extra expenses, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And you guys could probably use a break from La Castillo. You've had a really hard term, Katie, and you deserve the chance to relax with your friends in a nice hotel."

I stared at him, open mouthed. "Are you serious?"

He nodded. "Very. The rooms are good throughout Christmas week, but I figured you guys could leave sometime next week, and then come back early the following week."

"I – wow – yeah – that'd be amazing…But I don't know if the others' parents would go for it…I mean, are we going to have a chaperon?"

"I thought about that and I talked to your mother about it, but the truth is, there isn't much you can do there that you can't do in an empty janitor's closet at school – or in a car," he added, looking at me pointedly.

My cheeks reddened for the hundredth time that day. "Yeah, true…"

"If you want, I'll talk to their parents. But I'm sure they'll be okay with it – they trust you all."

"I don't know about Mrs. Diamond. She doesn't really know you or me or Kendall – well, no, she might know Kendall, since he's on the hockey team with James and Shane. But she got really freaked out when Kyle was going to take Shane to a PG13 movie that should've been rated R, and she made James tag along. He had me come with them, so that he wouldn't be a third wheel," I added. "Anyway, are you sure you want me to be in a hotel, un-chaperoned, with James?"

"Nope." He popped the P. "But as your mom pointed out, I'm totally fine with Kendall being alone in a hotel with Jo, and we all know how he feels about her. It's really not fair if I let him go with her, but I don't let you go with James. I mean, I could just cancel the trip, but the fact is, I haven't been here for you as much as I should have, and I'm leaving again, right before Christmas."

"So…this is a consolation prize?"

"Pretty much." He looked at me apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Katie."

"It's okay." I sighed. "All right. I'm meeting Cami for coffee in, like – " I checked the time – "now. I'll talk to her about it, and then maybe we'll call the others and see if they want to go. But I don't know if Jo will go if there's going to be hockey players there. Stephanie's loosened up a lot with them, but Jo's still pretty stuck in her ways."

"What did a hockey player ever do to her?" Dad wanted to know.

"He dated her and then dumped her," I shrugged. "She then dated another one, and he did the same thing."

"Oh. Well, she should try Kendall. I swear, that boy would try to catch the moon for her if she told him it was what she wanted for her birthday."

"I'm sure he would."

"Anyway, this trip would be good for you and Kendall," Dad said to me as I got to my feet. "You two haven't really spent a lot of time together in awhile. You could use some re-bonding time."

I shrugged and reached for my coat. "We'll see. I'll be home in a couple of hours."

"Okay, drive safely."

"Will do." I headed out the door and made my way down to the car. I got in, sent a quick text to Camille to let her know that I was on my way, and drove to the local coffee shop. I parked and checked my phone. She had texted me: **We have some company ;)**

Uh oh. She had sent a winky face. That gave me a pretty good idea who the company was…But if I was right about one of the guys, then I wasn't going to mind in the least.

I got out of my car and glanced around the parking lot. Sure enough, I spotted James' black Dodge Challenger. I grinned and sauntered into the coffee shop, giving my hips an extra swing. What? If I wanted to keep him around for awhile, I had to make it look good.

I immediately caught sight of Camille sitting at a corner table beside Logan. James was seated opposite them. I waved at them, before heading up to the counter to order a white hot chocolate. Once it had come up, I went on over to them, and sat down in the chair beside James.

He glanced at me. "Hey."

"Hey." I reached under the table to give his leg a slight squeeze, before placing my hand in my lap.

"Oh, just kiss," Camille rolled her eyes. "You two obviously want to."

"You know what I don't get?" Logan addressed Camille. "Is how, after spending last night making out, the tension between them is still burning hot."

"Lots and lots of chemistry. Oh, and they don't like each other, remember?"

"Hey, I like Katie!" James protested.

I quickly took a sip of my hot chocolate, and winced as it hit my mouth, scalding my tongue.

"Oh yeah, they admitted they have feelings for each other," Logan said. "I forgot."

"Me too. Seriously, I can't keep up with them. Next thing you know, they'll be running off and getting married or having sex on the chem. classroom desk, or – " she broke off as I grabbed James and hauled his face to mine, kissing him deeply.

"Or making out in the coffee shop," Logan finished for Camille.

"Yeah, that."

I pulled away from James, grinning. "Problem?"

Camille and Logan both shook their heads.

"Good. So, you know how my dad is a member of the All Access club to Holly hotel?"

They both nodded.

"Wait – what's Holly hotel?" James wanted to know. "And what's the All Access club?"

"It's this hotel in the mountains in northern California," I explained. "It's _really_ nice. And the All Access club basically just lets you have all these special deals. It's really cool."

"Ah, okay."

"Anyway," I continued on, "he got five rooms for the price of two up through Christmas week – don't ask me what kind of fucked up deal that is, cuz I don't know – and he's got to go to New York for the next week, and he thought maybe we'd all like the rooms. He's already talked to my mom about it, so I guess Kendall knows. But yeah, he's inviting all of us."

Camille's eyes lit up. "That would be so freaking awesome! I've seen pictures of that place – the pool is amazing. And the slopes are sick! Dude! We're so going."

I nodded. "Will your parents let you?"

"Duh. They love you and they love your parents and Kendall. Is there going to be a chaperon?"

I shook my head. "Just us." I glanced at James. "Is that going to be a problem with your mom?"

He bit his lip. "I'm not sure…I mean, she trusts Shane and me…Well, she might trust me a little less than she did…"

"Why?"

"Because I came in a three in the morning, looking like I'd just had sex, and she knew I'd been with you."

Logan and Camille both smirked.

"Oh. Well, that could be a problem…"

"And I'm not sure how she'll feel about Shane not having any parental supervision."

"Well, you'll be there."

"I'm not sure she trusts me not to sneak away with you."

"What is she so worried about with Shane?" Camille asked. "Is he, like, really susceptible to sugar or caffeine or something?"

James shook his head. "She just worries about him, is all."

"Oh. Well, you should try to talk her around. Seriously, this is going to be amazing, and you and Shane need to experience the amazing-ness."

"I'll see what I can do," he promised.

"Good. Anyway, when can we leave?"

"Maybe on Wednesday or something?"

"Awesome." Camille beamed happily. "I can't wait!"

"You still need to get your parents' permission," Logan reminded her. "And I'm not sure my parents will let me go."

"Oh, puh-leeze." She waved his worry aside. "You're so responsible and dependable that you're twice as good as an adult chaperon. Your parents have nothing to worry about when it comes to you."

"Was I responsible and dependable last night?"

A satisfied smirk slithered across her face. "Well, even responsible and dependable chaperons have to take a night off once in awhile."

He grinned. "I like your way of thinking."

"That's not the only thing you like."

"Okay!" I cried, holding off my hands. "Enough of the roundabout dirty talking! Let's focus on the matter at hand – getting everyone else's parents to agree to this."

"Well, all we can do is talk and reason with them," Logan replied with a shrug. "Mrs. Diamond will probably be the hardest parent to crack, but she's really nice, and she's actually pretty cool with sex – she keeps offering to buy James condoms."

James face-palmed.

"Ribbed or regular?" I wanted to know.

"Not sure."

"James? Ribbed or regular?"

"I didn't ask her to specify…"

"Oh, well, make sure she gets you ribbed," Camille told him. "You know, _ribbed for her pleasure. _You want to make it good for Katie."

"Will do," James gritted out.

"Good. Hey, think she could get the rest of us some?"

James glared at her.

She immediately backed off. "Guess not. Sheesh. Spoilsport."

"There's no way in hell I'm asking my mother to get us all condoms."

"Eh, whatever. If the need arises, I'm sure Logan can afford his own."

I dry gagged slightly.

"Anyway, I'm sure she'll let _you_ go," Camille added to James. "You'll just have to work her over when it comes to Shane. But hey, he'll be in good hands."

I inwardly smirked. Yeah, he would be in good hands – _Kyle's_ hands.

"I know."

"Good. So, talk to her, and we'll figure out what to do about the other parents when and if the time comes." She grinned at us all. "Seriously, this is going to be _awesome_!"

* * *

_**So, once again, not a lot happening, but hey, hopefully some of it was entertaining :) Anyway, show the poor, lonely review button some love and let me know what you think! I love hearing your opinions and feelings about the story! Love you all :)**_


	14. Chapter 14: Not Together, Together

**_Ladies and gentlemen, chapter fourteen!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. I'm still crying over it._**

**_Guest: Aww, thank you so much! You're so sweet, and I'm so happy you liked it! Oh, there should be some Shane/Kyle scenes. And agreed, they're adorable :) And thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate it :)_**

**_btrluvr8: Your private messaging system is disabled, so I'm just gonna reply to you here :) Thank you so much, I'm so happy you enjoyed it! And thank you for reviewing :)_**

**_THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED, FAVORITED, FOLLOWED, OR READ THIS STORY! I love you guys sooo much!_**

**_So, for the first time, I'm going to put a warning for Break the Ice: Besides the usual language, there's mild smut, and something that could possibly, in another world, pass as dirty talk or sexting. So, there you go :)_**

**_Enjoy the chapter!_**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Not Together, Together**

**James' POV**

To be entirely honest, I wasn't sure _awesome_ was the right word. I was a little nervous about broaching the subject of going on a trip with my kinda-sorta-not-really-but-potential-girlfriend-but-at-the-moment-make-out-buddy to my mother. I wasn't sure I really wanted to know just what she would say to that, but something told me I wasn't going to get out of it completely unscathed.

Katie sent out a group text to everyone, complete with details and the link to the hotel's website. Within about thirty seconds, people began to respond with _Yes! Definitely yes!_ along with a few _I need to ask my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes_. I shook my head, listening to her read the texts aloud. I could definitely understand why everyone was so enthusiastic about this trip, I really could. I would love to be alone in a hotel room with Katie. A whole new batch of fantasies were already beginning to run rampant in my mind, and I hadn't even finished my dark hot chocolate yet.

At last, Katie set her phone down on the table. "So, it looks like Stephanie will definitely be going, as will Carlos and Kyle. Jo's hemming and hawing about it, but she really does want to go, so I think she'll cave."

"She doesn't want to spend a week stuck in a hotel with a bunch of hockey players?" Logan said to her.

"Nope. And believe me, it's not my favorite thing either, but due to recent events, I'd be a complete hypocrite if I said I didn't want to go with you guys."

"Yeah, making out with a hockey player and then saying you don't want to spend time with him would definitely make you look bad," Camille agreed.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'm always here for you, babe."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Good to know."

Camille just shrugged, before turning to Logan. "So…follow me home, and then take me to a movie?" She batted her lashes at him.

"Sounds good." They both got to their feet. "See you guys later." They headed out of the coffee shop, leaving me with Katie.

"Gee, wanna do the same with me?" she cracked.

I paused, before looking at her. "Why not? We don't have school tomorrow. We could go to the drive-in, or something."

"I was joking…"

"And I'm serious."

She blinked at me. "It's not a date."

"Then I won't kiss you goodnight," I replied coolly.

"I mean, I don't date hockey players."

"So you keep saying." I slumped back in the chair. "If you don't want to go – "

"No, I do. I just want to make sure you know where I stand."

"Katie, I don't think _you_ even know where you stand. Don't you think last night changes things a little bit?"

"M-maybe a little…"

I sighed and finished off my hot chocolate. "Whatever. I'll see you later, Katie."

"Wait!" she leapt to her feet. "Come on, you knew when you kissed me that I don't date hockey players."

"So, what? You just want to be friends?"

She shook her head.

"Then what do you want?"

"Popcorn. And you." She walked over to me and placed her hands on my chest, looking up at me and giving me a sad pout.

"I – I don't know…"

"Please?" she slid one of her hands down to my abs, before playing with my belt buckle.

I was like putty in her very soft hands.

"Fine," I relented. "But since it's not a date, you're paying your own way in."

"Sounds good to me."

We headed out to her cars, and I followed her home. I waited for her while she ran in to let her dad know about her plans. About two minutes after she disappeared into the house, she dashed back outside to my car, and slid into the front passenger's seat. "Let's go."

I drove us to the drive-in. We headed in to pay for the movie and get popcorn and drinks, before making our way back to my car. We got in and set the car up for the movie. It began a few minutes later.

We had chosen an action comedy, since it was one we both wanted to see, but hadn't gotten the chance to do so. From what I saw of the movie, it was fantastic. Unfortunately, I didn't see much of it.

Turns out I can't be trusted at a movie with Katie. Somehow, we ended up in the backseat of my car, and she showed me just how much this was not a date by kissing me senseless and leaving hickeys all over my upper body. She even managed to get off my shirt. There was a lot of moaning involved after that, though I'm still not sure which one of us it was coming from. But I think it was coming from both of us, so at least I wasn't the only one who was enjoying themselves.

"Right," I said to Katie as I reached around her body for a handful of popcorn. "This wasn't a date."

"Just shut up," she told me, running her hands over my ab muscles.

I shrugged and tossed the popcorn into my mouth, before eyeing her shirt. It really needed to come off. Like, say, now. I mean, it really wasn't fair that I was the only one who was half-naked here.

She smirked at me knowingly. "Now, do you really think I would let you take my shirt off on a non-date, when we just kissed for the first time last night?"

"Nope."

"Yeah, that's where you're wrong." She set the popcorn bucket aside, before pulling her shirt up and over her head.

I'm not sure, but I think I might have whimpered a little…At the very least, my tongue had become temporarily glued to the roof of my mouth, so I wasn't going to be able to speak anytime soon.

Oh, and did I mention Mini-James? Yeah, he was making a guest appearance. Just popping up out of nowhere. Thank you so very much.

Katie's smirk widened and she grinded her hips into mine. "Now, what is that?" she gave me a mockingly scandalized look, before grinning at me. "Either your phone just had one hell of a growth spurt, or you're really happy to see me."

I opened my mouth, trying furiously to regain the use of my mouth and vocal chords, but she chose that moment to move against me. Yeah, okay. I was pretty sure I could go through life as a mute.

To be entirely fair (to me), this was pretty much something out of my wet dreams. But it still would have been nice if I could have said something more intelligent than "Nnnggghhh…"

"This is what you wanted to do on my birthday, right?" she asked me, rocking her hips into mine. "We were _thisclose_ to dry humping."

"Ummm…"

She grinned. "Kat got your tongue?" (Note: Credit to _Jatieluv_)

"Pretty much."

Hey! It speaks! Two entire words!

Let's just say that the rest of the movie went something like that – a lot of dry humping, a lot of kissing, a lot of fooling around. But, this wasn't a date. Of course not. After all, everyone dry humps with their friends on a regular basis. Gimme a freaking break.

"And just think," Katie said to me as we clambered into the front seat, fully dressed once again, "if you convince your mom to let you go on the trip, there'll be a lot more of that." She grinned at me.

I knew I should have put my foot down right then and there. I should have said "Look, as great as that was, I'm not going to do it with you until you agree to go out with me".

But instead, all I said was, "I'll talk to her tonight."

"Good," she said in satisfaction.

I dropped Katie off at her house, before driving home. Once I had parked, I hurried into my house, thinking that I really should take my mom up on her offer of buying me condoms. At the very least, I could wear one the next time Katie and I fooled around or something. I dashed upstairs to change clothes before talking to my mom about letting Shane and me go on the trip with the others.

Mom was in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables for beef stew. "Hi, sweetie," she greeted me. "How was your day?"

"It was good…" _Really_ good…

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah. So, um…Katie's dad is a part of the All Access club to the Holly hotel…"

"Oh, is he? I'm so jealous! That's such a nice place. I used to go there with your grandparents all the time."

"You did?"

She nodded. "I was hoping we could go up there before Christmas, but I have to work."

"Well…um…her dad got five rooms for the price of two, for the weeks before and through Christmas, and he has to go on a business trip to New York, so he thought maybe we'd all like them."

"You all? As in, you and Shane and your friends?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Would it be okay if Shane and I go?"

"Is there going to be a parent along?"

I shook my head. "No…"

Mom sighed. "Well, I don't know…Fifteen and sixteen is still pretty young for a trip that isn't supervised by adults."

"But Logan will probably be there, and he's twice as responsible and dependable as most adults," I pointed out. "You know what he's like. He's the reason I'm getting straight A's in math and science."

"I'm aware that Logan's very mature for his age, but he's still only seventeen. Most people don't make very good judgment calls as teenagers."

"And you do as adults?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Remember that time Grandpa drunk dialed us?"

"Well…"

"Please? We won't do anything stupid. We're just going up there to hang out and relax. And we'll have our phones on us at all times," I added.

"That's nice, but that's not the problem."

"We won't drink or do drugs, and we won't get hurt."

Mom bit her lip. "You'll be up there with Katie, and Shane will be up there with Kyle."

"Mom, there's nothing up there that we can't do here in La Castillo," I informed her.

"I'm aware of that. But at least, here if you get out of control, I can put my foot down and tell you _enough_."

"And has that ever happened?"

"No. No, it hasn't."

"Exactly."

"Although you did come in way too late last night."

"It was one time."

"All right." She sighed. "I'll trust you to act like a mature and responsible adult while you're on this trip."

"And Shane? Can he come too?" I asked hopefully. "I'll watch him and make sure he stays out of trouble, although I don't think he'd get into any."

"I don't think he would either," Mom agreed. "Fine, but he's your responsibility for the duration of the week."

I beamed. "Thank you so, so much, Mom! You won't regret this!" I threw my arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"Oof!" she gasped. "Okay, okay, can't breathe here."

"Oops, sorry." I released her.

"You are way too strong for a sixteen year old boy," she grumbled.

"Thanks, I try. Anyway, need any help with dinner?"

"Nope, but it'd be great if you could set the table in a little while. Oh, and I'm going to have to go over some basic rules with you and your brother. And…since you will be up there with Katie…I'm getting you condoms. And don't try to argue with me. I know how insane teen hormones can get, and while I don't want you having sex at sixteen, I do know it's a distinct possibility, and I would rather you be safe and prepared, then scared and pregnant."

"Um…Could you get me the ribbed ones? You know, _ribbed for her pleasure_?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Oh, and you'll need to give me your measurements, so that I know what size I need to buy."

I dry choked. "Excuse me?"

"You need to measure yourself," she repeated to me. "Unless you already know your condom size."

"Um…You want me to…?"

"Yes, James. I want you to measure your dick."

I dry choked again.

"Who's measuring their dick?" Shane asked as he walked into the kitchen. "Ooh, carrots!" he grabbed a carrot stick from the chopping board and stuck it in his mouth, before looking at Mom and me expectantly.

"James, since I'm getting him condoms incase he and Katie wind up having sex," Mom explained to him.

Shane grinned around his carrot. It hung out of his mouth like a very stiff, very orange cigar. "This is better than Pay-Per-View."

"Glad you think so," I grumbled.

"So," Mom continued on, "if you follow your father's size, and I think you do, then I'll need to get you an average, minimum. But it'll most likely be a large. Even as a baby, you were decent sized."

Shane started laughing. "I'm so glad I stayed home for dinner."

"Ummm…" was all I managed to get out. I might as well have been in the backseat of my car again, with Katie in my lap and straddling me.

"I mean, your father has a lot of horrible qualities, but his body was one of his better ones."

I managed to get out, "Gross."

She shrugged. "Depends on your point of view."

"Yeah, I'm out. I really don't need to hear about yours and Dad's sex life."

"Like I would go into any more detail about it." She scraped the vegetables into the bubbling pot on the stove.

"Seriously, please don't."

"So, make sure you get those measurements to me by tomorrow, so that I can stop by the store."

"Or you could just have James go," Shane suggested. "Hey, James, you should bring Katie with you! Then you two can go shopping for other stuff. You know, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, cherries, fuzzy handcuffs, that kind of thing."

I glared at him. "You're not riding to school with me anymore."

"That's fine. I can just hitch a ride with Kyle."

"Don't be late because you're too busy making out with him."

"Funny, I could say the same thing about you and Katie."

"You're not riding in my car with me _anywhere_, anymore."

"Fine. I'll stop making jokes about you and Katie."

"Thank you."

"Although, it is pretty tempting."

"I'm ignoring you now." I headed for the stairs.

"Oh, make sure you wash the tape measure you end up using," Mom called after me. "And that one will be your personal one from now on."

I groaned and mounted the stairs. Talk about embarrassment to the tenth power.

Once I got to my room, I threw myself onto my bed and checked my phone. I had a new text from Katie: **You better be asking your mom about the trip…**

I rolled my eyes and texted her back: **I did, and she said yes, to both Shane and me.**

She replied a couple minutes later. **Sweet! So, we're going to try to leave Wednesday morning, and we'll stay until next Monday.**

**Sounds good, I'll let my mom know.**

**Awesome. Oh, and today was really fun ;) There'll definitely be more of that when we're on the trip.**

**Can't wait.**

**Mmm…me neither.**

I shook my head. How was she so comfortable with grinding into me, but she couldn't handle dating a hockey player? None of this made any sense, whatsoever.

A moment later, my phone's screen lit up with a new text from her. I hesitantly opened it:

**So, I dreamt about you last night ;)**

I responded at once. **Did I die?**

**Nope. It was a good dream. A really good one.**

**Glad to hear I survived.**

A moment later, my phone started ringing, with Katie's name lighting up on my Caller ID. I answered it.

"Hey."

"Hey. So, what's up with you? You sound really out of it. I mean, I'm trying to get you all hot and bothered, and you sound like you don't really care."

"Why?"

"That's why _I_ called _you_."

"No, I mean, why were you trying to get me hot and bothered? Wasn't doing it earlier today enough?"

"I don't know," she replied off-handedly. "I'm bored."

"Good to know. I'm hanging up now."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Why do you sound so out of it?" her voice took on a slightly softer tone.

"Oh, I just had a really weird conversation with my mom and brother."

"What about?" I heard a creaking sound in the background, and then a slight sigh. It sounded like she had just laid down on her bed.

"My mom…um…wants to get me condoms for the trip…"

"So, Logan wasn't exaggerating about her?"

"Nope."

"Oh man…That's awesome." She started laughing. "That's really awesome."

"That I'll need them?"

"No, that she actually told you that she's getting you them."

"Yeah, well, she wants me to measure myself."

She let out a snort. "Wash the tape measure."

"Yeah, I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Sorry, sorry. I guess it's probably like a girl having to measure herself for a bra."

"Um, yeah, I guess. Except, you know, different equipment…"

"I know, but still. Anyway, where does Shane come into it?"

"Oh, he just made a whole bunch of comments. He thinks the whole thing's funny."

"It is funny," she informed me. "But once your mom starts talking to him about condoms and such, he'll stop laughing. It's the way it always works."

"Very true," I agreed. "So, what're you up to tonight?"

"Eh, I'll probably order takeout or something. My dad had an emergency meeting at his office, so I'm all alone."

"Oh, that sucks. Hey, my mom's making beef stew for dinner…You could always come over and join us," I suggested.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," she said quickly.

"You wouldn't. Come on, you're alone too much as it is. Come over for dinner."

"Shouldn't you check with your mom first?"

"Good point." I got up and headed down the stairs to the kitchen, still clutching my phone. "Hey, Mom? Is it okay if Katie comes over for dinner? Her dad's at a meeting and she's all by herself."

Mom shrugged. "Fine by me. Oh, and tell her I have a chocolate crème pie for dessert."

"Will do." I turned away and said into the phone, "My mom's cool with it, and she said to tell you that she got a chocolate crème pie for dessert."

"Your mom's officially my favorite person ever. I'll be over in twenty minutes."

I chuckled. "Sounds good."

We hung up, and I turned to Mom. "She said you're officially her favorite person ever."

"I have a feeling I'm going to like that girl."

"Katie's interesting," Shane agreed. "There definitely isn't anyone else like her out there."

"Sounds like a good thing," Mom said brightly.

"It can be," I said. "But she's also really unpredictable, and it can be really hard to read her. I can't figure her out for the life of me."

"Why would you want to?" Mom asked me. "You should enjoy yourself with her, have fun, don't try to make things more complicated then they need to be. Just let her be herself, and be yours in turn. Things will work out eventually." And with that, she turned back to the stew.

True to her word, Katie arrived about twenty minutes later. She had changed into jeans and a long sleeved shirt, her hair swinging around her shoulders as she clutched a tote bag. I let her into the house.

"So you do know how to dress like a normal person," I commented, thinking of her miniskirt and thigh high socks she had been wearing earlier that day.

"Says Mr. Fashion Model," she shot back. "Besides," she added with a smirk, "you loved my skirt."

I zipped my lips, and her smirk widened. She bumped my hip with hers as she passed by me, looking around. "Nice house," she commented.

"Thanks. My mom considers herself to be an amateur interior decorator, so she did it all herself."

"Your mom's got good taste."

"Well, thank you very much!" Mom bustled out of the kitchen, beaming at Katie.

Katie smiled back at her. "You're welcome. And thank you so much for having me over for dinner. I hope you're not going to any trouble."

"None at all. It's nice to have someone over besides your brother and the rest of the hockey team. I love those boys, but they never stop eating."

Katie laughed. "Believe me, I know how that goes. My mom has to go shopping twice a week just to keep the fridge stocked with food. And when I come back to my dad's after Kendall's stayed with him for the weekend, the pantry is usually completely empty."

"Gotta love teenage boys," Mom groaned.

"Hey!" Shane called from the kitchen, his voice slightly muffled like he was in the process of chewing. "I resemble that remark!"

Mom and Katie grinned at each other, while I shook my head.

"Yeah, he's the poster boy for teenage boys, all right," I grumbled as we all headed into the kitchen.

Shane was in the process of setting the table. "Oh, hey, Katie," he greeted her.

"Hey, Shane," she replied.

"Heard from Kyle?"

"Yeah, this morning, actually. He had some interesting things to say about you."

Shane eyed her coolly. "That's funny. He called me up this afternoon, and had some pretty interesting things to say about you, as well."

"I'm sure he did."

"Yeah. Just thought I'd let you know."

"Well," Katie smiled sweetly, "I'm sure there won't be any problems."

"I'm sure there won't be."

Mom and I looked back and forth between Shane and Katie, like we were watching a very intense ping-pong game. By the look on her face, she was every bit as confused as I was. What the hell had _that_ been about?

After a long stare down, Katie and Shane finally looked away from each other.

"So, food," Shane said quickly, moving to his spot at the table.

"Katie, you can take the seat beside James," Mom told her, before letting out a squeal. "It's so nice to have James' girlfriend over!"

"She's not my girlfriend," I said quickly, at the same time Katie corrected,

"Oh, we're not dating."

Mom blinked at us, before giving us a knowing smile. "Riiiight, of course. Whatever was I thinking?" She bustled around the kitchen, placing stew on the table, and encouraging us to sit down and eat up.

Katie and I sat down next to each other, and Shane plopped down in his usual place, opposite me. Mom sat down at the head of the table, and we began to dish stew into our bowls.

"So, Katie," Mom spoke up, "how long have you been ice skating?"

"Since I could walk," she replied. "My family's a huge ice family, so there was no way I was getting away with not learning how to skate."

"Do your parents skate?"

"Yep. My dad used to play professional hockey, but he got badly injured and couldn't play anymore. And my mom did some figure skating like me, though she did it for fun, not for competition."

"I imagine there must be a lot of pressure with the competition."

"There can be. But as long as you keep calm and stay in the zone, you'll be okay. A lot of it is just basically psyching out the comp. Mind tricks and stuff."

"Sounds really cutthroat," I commented. "Although, I imagine you'd be good with the mind tricks. Doesn't sound very ethical, though."

Katie shrugged. "People do it to you, so you learn to do it back. You have to have a certain mentality for the competition, and if you don't, then you'll be eaten alive."

"Makes sense."

"It's not pretty, but it's what it takes sometimes." She took a bite of her stew.

"You'd be wonderful in the cosmetics business," my mom told Katie. "You wouldn't think it'd be cutthroat, but it can be."

"You work with cosmetics?"

"I'm trying to. After my husband left, I went back to school and got my degree in business, and now I'm trying to start my own company."

"That's awesome!" Katie smiled at her.

"Isn't it? My ex husband didn't want me going to school, so I couldn't do that while we were together. But he's a huge dick, pardon my language."

Shane smirked. "And we all know huge dicks run in our family," he muttered.

I slapped my hand over my mouth as Katie grinned, before leaning over to whisper to me, "I noticed that earlier today," before swiping her hand over my zipper and straightening back up.

Neither Mom or Shane noticed, or if they did, they didn't draw attention to what had just happened, which was a huge relief.

The rest of dinner passed pretty quietly. As promised, Mom brought out a chocolate crème pie. She cut us all huge slices and we dug in eagerly.

Once we were finished, we helped her clean up, and then she excused herself to go watch a movie in her room, pointedly suggesting to Shane that he go catch up on his favorite TV show. He rolled his eyes, but flashed me a smirk and followed Mom up the stairs.

I turned to Katie. "So…"

"So…Why don't you show me your room?"

I blinked at her. "Why?"

"Why not?"

"Um…"

"Come on, big, strong hockey player, lead the way."

I took her hand and pulled her up the stairs to my room. I flipped on the light, and stood back, a little nervously, as she took in my hockey and rock band posters that covered the walls.

"It's definitely you," she commented as she turned to face me.

"Thanks…I think…"

She laughed. "It's a good thing. At least you didn't practically paper your walls with hockey posters, like Kendall."

"Hockey isn't my life," I pointed out.

"Very true." She walked around my room, looking up at the music posters, and admiring my guitar, which was leaning up against my dresser. "I didn't know you played."

"Oh, yeah, I've played since I was ten. My dad actually taught me."

"What kind is it?"

"A Gibson Les Paul," I replied. I pulled out the ten watt amp to show her. "My mom won't let me get a bigger one than this."

"Nice," she said appreciatively. "Do you have any other guitars?"

I nodded and reached under my bed, extracting my acoustic one.

Katie plopped down on my bed and crossed her legs. "Play something for me," she suggested.

"Okay." I pulled out the guitar and sat down beside her. I cradled the guitar, snatched the pick from between the strings, and slowly began to strum out a soft melody.

After a couple of minutes, I rested my arm over the guitar's neck, and Katie looked at me. "You're really good," she told me.

I smiled. "Thanks."

"No problem." She leaned over, softly pressing her lips to mine.

I paused in surprise for a moment, before kissing her back. After a few seconds, she pulled back. She took the guitar out of my arms, and laid it in its case, before climbing into my lap. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, she began kissing down my jaw and sucking on my neck.

Oh…well…okay…

I might have reminded her that my brother and mother were just down the hall, but my brain had frozen up.

She seemed to take that as a sign to keep on going. Her hands slid down my chest to my stomach, her fingers resting in the waistband of my jeans. She continued sucking on my neck, and I felt myself moan, my head tilting to the side. I pulled her closer, my fingers slipping into the belt loops of her jeans, and I wasn't sure, but I had the distinct impression that she was grinning.

The next thing I knew, she was pushing me onto my back, and she was shimmying up, hips against mine. I looked up at her, my breath catching in my throat. She tossed her hair out of her face, eyes locking with me.

"Um…" wow, a whole syllable! "My mom and Shane…"

"So, be quiet," she smirked.

"We're not – we're not dating – "

"Sexual tension, Jamie-Bear. Too much sexual tension."

"Yeah, but – "

She cut me off, pressing her lips forcefully to mine, and my train of thought went straight off the tracks. She pushed her hips into mine, and I gasped, my hips jerking up in response. She smirked and did it again.

Before I could gather my thoughts, my shirt was coming off, and then hers was following. Her fingers were fumbling with the button and zipper of my jeans. She got the button undone and the zipper down. She glanced at me, eyes hazy with lust, cheeks flushed and lips swollen. I looked back at her, my brain still a jumbled mess. I knew it would probably be a good idea to stop her before she got my jeans down, but the words weren't coming out of my mouth. And Mini-James was no help whatsoever. He was begging, pleading, for attention, any kind.

Attention whore.

Katie managed to get my jeans down, and her eyes fastened on my boxers. Her cheeks flushed even more, and for a moment, I saw uncertainty and fear in her eyes. But before I could open my mouth to tell her that whatever she was planning, she didn't need to do, she smirked at me. "Looks like I was right about what I felt earlier."

"Katie…You don't…I mean…it's not…" Well, that was a huge help.

She looked at me, giving me her best tough-girl stare. "I'm not scared or embarrassed or anything, if that's what you're thinking."

As it so happened, that was _exactly_ what I had been thinking.

"I was fine earlier, and I'm fine now. Besides, it's not like I've never been this far with a guy."

My stomach dropped and my mouth suddenly went dry. "You – you have been?"

"Well…okay, no. That was a lie. But I'm fine."

"You're not." I grabbed my jeans and pulled them up. I sat up, and wound one of my arms around her waist. She looked away, avoiding my eyes.

"Katie." I slipped my fingers under her chin and turned her face towards mine. Her cheeks were still red, and her eyes shone with fear and what I had a feeling were tears. "What're you trying to prove?"

"Nothing! God! I'm not trying to prove anything. Is it so bad to want to get rid of this fucking sexual tension?!"

"No," I replied gently. "But you're pushing yourself. You're acting like you're trying to…I don't know…like you're trying to show how hot you are."

"I'm not." She crossed her arms, before her shoulders slumped and she glanced down, realizing that she still hadn't put her shirt back on. She looked so sad and helpless and scared and pathetic that I literally felt my heart begin to break. I reached for her shirt and passed it to her. She pulled it on, still refusing to look at me.

I grabbed my shirt and slid it on, buttoning it up.

"I don't get it," Katie said quietly.

"What don't you get?" I asked curiously.

"Why – why this is so easy for Camille and Logan, and I just completely freaked out."

"May I remind you that we're not Camille and Logan? They're two completely different people then we are. And they've been…doing stuff…longer than we have. We only kissed for the first time twenty-four hours ago," I pointed out.

"I guess…"

"Why are you so determined to get into sex?"

She blinked at me. "I was just going to give you a hand job or something…"

"Same difference."

"Well…" she licked her lips nervously. "It's just…I mean, with our sexual tension…we really need to get rid of it. Work through it."

"Sexual tension or none at all, we can't go faster than what we're comfortable with," I said softly. "It'll work itself out. Until then…we just live with it."

"I'm not good with just living with stuff."

I chuckled. "So I've noticed."

She looked down at the ground, her hair falling into her face. "You probably think I'm a really bad slut."

"No. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think, but it's not that."

"Oh. You know, I should probably go – "

"You should stay," I told her, pulling her against me.

"Why?"

"Because I like you, and I don't want you to leave."

She sighed. "You do know you're completely ruining my badass rep, right?"

I grinned. "I'm doing my damndest to."

"Well, damn you, James Diamond. Damn you." And then she kissed me, relaxing against me.

* * *

_**Okay, so, not the best chapter in the world, and for that I'm sorry. But hopefully you guys liked it okay. So, I know James' and Katie's relationship is probably really confusing, and I'm sorry about that too. But it's necessary for the plot, so I hope you guys will forgive me for that.**_

_**Anyway, feel free to review and let me know if you liked it :) And the review button could use some attention, so maybe that'll add to the incentive? ;)**_

_**Oh, and one last thing: I posted Haunted Revenge, the sequel to the DLS-S Cruise a few days ago, so if you read that story, it'd be awesome if you could check it out :) **_


	15. Chapter 15: Fear and Indecision

_**So, I'm finally getting Chapter Fifteen up, after making you guys wait for over a month.**_

_**Disclaimer: Own Big Time Rush? Who, me? Never.**_

_**Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it! Don't worry, Katie and Kyle are friends, I promise :) Thank you for taking the time to review, I appreciate it!**_

_**Guest#2: Thank you so much for reading it! Really? Yay! That's so awesome (for me at least ;P). Thank you so much for reviewing, I really appreciate it :)**_

_**THANK YOU to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, or reviewed this story! You're all so amazing, and I can't even begin to tell you guys how much I appreciate the continued support :)**_

_**So, this chapter was originally supposed to be a filler, and it still kind of is, but the thing is, there's a turning point towards the end. I had to think long and hard about how I wanted this chapter to end, because I knew whatever I did was going to affect the rest of the story (which there's still plenty of, so don't worry :)). This really isn't a good chapter to post the day before Valentine's Day, and for that I'm sorry, but I finally figured out what I needed to do with it, and I wanted to get it up so that you guys wouldn't have to wait any longer. It's not the best chapter I've ever written, and it was actually pretty difficult to write, but here it is.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter :)**_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Fear and Indecision**

**Katie's POV**

The first words out of my mouth the next morning were, "We're never talking about last night ever again."

James blinked at me, still half asleep. "What?"

"Last night never happened. I had dinner with you and your family, we dry humped, we fell asleep. No talking, no heart to heart, nothing. It never happened."

"Whatever you say," he mumbled out as he rolled over.

"I'm serious! If you tell anyone, I will take a wrench and use it to twist your balls."

"Ouch."

"That's what I'm saying. So _don't tell anyone_."

He rolled back over, giving me an annoyed look. "For your information, _Katie-Bear_, I wasn't planning on telling anyone."

"Oh, for heaven's sake! What is it going to take?"

He stared at me. "What the hell's wrong with you?! I'm agreeing to your terms and demands here."

"Well, stop!"

"So you want me to tell everyone?"

"No!"

"Then what?!"

I paused, frowning. Huh. I guess I just wanted to fight with him. Give me a reason not to be so embarrassed about last night.

James rolled back over. "Did you stay just to fight with me?" he demanded.

I shook my head.

"Good. Because it's too early to fight with you."

"What time is it?"

He glanced at the clock. "Eight AM. And we're off from school. I'm going back to sleep, and you should too." He grabbed his pillow and stuffed it over his face.

"You're awfully grumpy in the morning," I commented.

"Go back to sleep."

"Oooh, demanding." _Hot_…I curled up next to him again and closed my eyes, drifting off soon after.

The next time I woke up was to Mrs. Diamond's voice: "Oh, goodness, I knew I should've gotten those condoms…"

"Water balloons," James mumbled. "Fun in the sun…"

I opened my eyes to find Mrs. Diamond standing in the doorway, Shane a foot or so behind her, a grin etched widely on his face.

Well. This was embarrassing.

And I didn't even want to know what James was rambling on about.

"Well?" Shane demanded. "What happened?"

"Well, obviously I slept over," I grumbled. "Problem?"

"Apparently not."

"Good."

"You two should probably get up," Mrs. Diamond piped up. "Katie, I'm sure your dad is worried about you."

"Right…" I pushed the covers back and got to my feet, running my fingers through my hair.

"Of course, you're more than welcome to stay for breakfast," Mrs. Diamond continued on. "We're having waffles, if you're interested."

"Oh…um…" I glanced at James, to gauge his reaction. He was sitting up now, hair sticking up everywhere, and I tried my hardest not to smile. He was so adorable like that.

"Sure," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "Mom makes the best waffles. And she has nothing to lecture us because _obviously_ we're both dressed and nothing happened last night."

"Right," I nodded. "We fell asleep talking."

Shane smirked. "Right…talking…is that what the kids are calling it now? _Talking_…Hey, Mom, can I go _talk_ with Kyle?"

Mrs. Diamond glared at him. "Don't even _think_ about _talking_ with him. Honestly, teenage boys…" she stomped out of the room, looking very bad tempered.

Shane looked at us. "Something I said?"

James pointed out his door. "_Go_!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Talk-A-Lot!" He grinned and headed out the door, closing it behind him.

"It's official," James groaned, falling back against his pillows, "my family's nuts."

"Nah, I think it's just your brother. Your mom seems pretty cool to me," I told him as I crawled back onto the bed. I settled my head on his chest. "Sir Talk-A-Lot…" I snorted slightly.

James tugged on my hair lightly in retaliation.

"What? It's funny. And he's right, you do talk a lot."

"Well, talking a lot seems to keep us from making mistakes," he pointed out.

"You promised you'd never bring that up," I snapped, pushing away from him.

"And I won't bring it up in front of anyone else. But you never did give me an actual answer for what happened last night."

"I just got caught up in the moment! You certainly weren't complaining!"

He took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. We won't talk about it again if you don't want to."

"I don't."

"Okay."

"Okay."

He nodded and got to his feet. "Come on, you probably need to brush your teeth or something."

I shrugged; instead of saying anything, I let him lead me out of his room and down the hall to the bathroom. He got me a spare toothbrush and tube of toothpaste, before pulling out a washcloth while I was brushing my teeth. Once I was finished, he grabbed his own toothbrush, and I did a quick wash of my face.

Once we were both cleaned up enough, we headed downstairs to find Mrs. Diamond setting waffles on the table. She already had maple and raspberry syrup, as well as jam, sitting on the table, and there was also a bowl of fruit.

She smiled at James and me and gestured for us to sit down.

"Thanks a bunch," I said to her as she loaded James' and my plates up with waffles.

"It's not a problem at all. You don't get a lot of home cooked, family meals, do you?"

"No, not really. My dad's always working, and my brother lives with my mom."

"Well, you're welcome over here anytime," she told me, patting my hand sweetly.

"Thanks."

Shane trooped downstairs a moment later and plopped into his chair. He glanced at us. "So, what happened last night? You two sleep together or what?"

"Sure," James replied, reaching for the butter and maple syrup. "We slept together in the sense that we actually _slept_ together."

"Yeah, that's boring. I can't believe it. You two have this insane sexual tension, and you spend the night together and _sleep_. What's up with that?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"I can't. All I know is that you two are nuts."

I shrugged and helped myself to the raspberry syrup.

It was past eleven AM by the time I pulled up in front of my house. I didn't see Dad's car in the driveway, and for the first time I checked the messages on my phone. I had one from Dad, letting me know that he had gone in to work early that morning and probably wouldn't be back until that evening. Another text came through, this time from Cami: **Hey, wanna go shopping with Jo and Steph? We could look for clothes for the trip.**

I smiled and texted her back, **Sure, what time?**

She replied, **1:00 work?**

**Sounds good.**

**Awesome, I'll pick you up then. See you then! :)**

**See you then :)**

I slipped my phone into my jeans pocket and headed on into the house. I flipped on lights and cranked the heat up, before dashing upstairs to take a quick shower. I did so and changed into another pair of jeans, boots, and a sweater.

At one on the dot, Cami texted me to let me know that she was outside. I hurried out, locking up behind me, and rushed down to the street, sliding into her car.

"Ready for a girls' afternoon out?" Camille asked me with a grin.

"More than ready," I replied.

"Awesome. Brace yourself, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

* * *

**James' POV**

The next few days went by both slowly and quickly at the same time, and before any of us knew it, it was Wednesday morning, and Mom was driving Shane and me over to the Knights'. Kendall, Katie, Shane, Kyle, Jo, and I were all riding in Mrs. Knight's van, while Logan, Camille, Carlos, and Stephanie were going to drive up there in Logan's car.

We pulled up in front of Kendall's house and jumped out of Mom's car, grabbing our luggage.

"Thanks for the ride," I said to her as we crowded around by the open driver's window so that we could talk to Mom. "We'll call you when we get up there, okay?"

Mom nodded. "Be safe, okay? Call me every morning and every night, and if you can, text me in-between those times."

"We will," Shane promised.

"Good. I love you both so much." She kissed our cheeks and gave us a small smile.

"Love you too," we both chorused, smiling back at her.

"Okay, so, you got everything?" she asked, wiping at her eyes.

Shane and I did a quick check to make sure we hadn't left anything at home or in the car, before turning back to appraise Mom. Was she…crying?

She sniffed slightly, reaching for a tissue and blowing her nose.

"Aww…why are you crying?" I asked her, reaching through the window to hug her. She leaned into me.

"Because you're both growing up so fast," she sobbed. "You're both in relationships now – "

"I'm not," I corrected her, but she ignored me.

" – and now you're going on your first un-chaperoned vacation. Where did the time go?"

Shane hugged her too. "Hey, we're still your little boys. We're just your big little boys."

"Exactly," I told her. "You'll always have us. It's only for a little over a half week. We'll be home on Monday evening. You'll see, Monday will come by really, really fast."

She let out another sob. "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay. You should go let the others know you're here. I'll talk to you both tonight."

"Talk to you tonight," I said, kissing her cheek. "Love you."

Shane kissed her cheek as well. "And I love you."

"Love you both," she sniffled. Before she could back out of the driveway, the front door swung open, and Kendall and Mrs. Knight came out of the house, closely followed by Katie. My eyes immediately focused in on Katie. She was in jeans, a cowl neck long sleeved shirt, and boots with three inch heels.

I almost laughed. Typical Katie. It wouldn't surprise me if she planned on arriving at the hotel in those, rather than with normal snow boots.

All three Knights joined us, and Mrs. Knight looked at Mom. "Feeling nostalgic?"

Mom sniffled again, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue. "A bit…"

"Well, why don't you come in? We can have hot chocolate, and I made chocolate chip cookies for the kids' trip. I made a triple batch, so I have plenty left over."

"Thanks," Mom replied. She climbed out of the car, and Mrs. Knight gave her a quick hug.

"I've been going through separation anxiety all morning," she laughed. "And a little last night. Katie stayed with us since her dad's out of town on a business trip, and having both of the kids in the house at the same time reminds me of when they were younger."

"They grow up way too quickly," Mom said as they headed for the house. "I remember when James and Shane were still in kindergarten and pre-k. How does the time go by so quickly?"

"I have no idea," Mrs. Knight replied sadly. "I mean, now my daughter's buying really nice undergarments and stuff. And her bras! She went up a cup in the last few months, and no one realized it. Can you believe it? I had to run her out to the store last night to pick up some new bras for her. And she has hips! Curves! How does that even happen?"

"Tell me about it. I had to have James measure himself so that I could pick him up a pack of condoms. It was a little freaky to see how much he's matured. And I just know Shane's going to follow along in his footsteps, if he hasn't already."

There was a long silence as we all processed the conversation between our mothers. I decided now would be a really good time to get a brainwash.

Katie broke the silence. She turned to me and said, "You know, I didn't think it felt that small."

Shane immediately cracked up. "This is better than pay-per-view."

"Gross!" Kendall hollered. "Ew! Ew! My ears are bleeding! Oh my God! I didn't need to know that you had close proximity with his – his – his – "

"Dick?" Katie suggested helpfully.

"Please let me get amnesia," he whimpered.

"Sorry, dude, I think you're shit out of luck," Shane told him, patting his back. "If it helps, it gets a little better after you've been around them for awhile."

By the way Kendall glared at him, it didn't help at all.

"Well, I tried," Shane shrugged.

"Just you wait until Mom starts embarrassing _you_," I snapped.

"Yeah, we'll see," Shane snickered.

"I can't believe my mom brought up the size of my sister's chest…" Kendall shuddered.

"Hey, at least I have cleavage now," Katie shrugged. "Not a lot, but I've got it." She smirked slightly, looking pretty damn proud of herself.

"Save it for James." Kendall shuddered again and headed into the house.

The rest of us turned for the house, but before we could move, a dark gray SUV pulled up, and Kyle climbed out of the front passenger's seat, duffel bag in hand and backpack thrown over his shoulder. He leaned over to hug his mother goodbye, before grinning at us.

We all grinned back, and Shane wandered down the driveway to greet him as Kyle's mom backed away from the curb and headed down the street.

Kyle pecked Shane's lips, and Katie and I both smiled at each other, before going on into the house.

The others arrived soon after, and we began to pack up the back of the van, before trying to figure out who would ride where. Kendall was driving, and Jo ended up calling shotgun. That left Katie and me in the middle seats, and Shane and Kyle in the back.

Katie grinned at me, and scooted a little closer, but I moved back a little bit.

This morning was the first time I had seen Katie since Sunday, and I'll admit that I kind of made sure of that. It wasn't that I didn't want to see her, but I had some stuff that I was trying to work out, and I couldn't do that if she was all over me. I had come to the conclusion – which I had kind of already known before – that I didn't want to continue to fool around with Katie if there wasn't some kind of relationship between us. It didn't feel right; it felt too much like a friends with benefits relationship, and I didn't want that at all. It was okay for some people, but it wasn't my type of thing. It just didn't feel right.

Katie gave me a questioning look, but didn't press the issue.

At noon we stopped at a diner off the road for lunch, where we met up with Logan, Camille, Carlos, and Stephanie.

"So, I've been trying to figure out the room arrangements," Kendall said as he took a huge bite out of his burger. "I know Logan and Camille will be rooming together, and Jo and Stephanie will be in the same room. I figured Carlos and I would end up together, and either Shane would end up with James, or he'd end up with Kyle."

Shane fidgeted slightly, and I glanced at him. We both knew Mom wouldn't want him sharing a room with Kyle, and if that did happen, I'd be in the same room as Katie. Kyle and Katie both watched us as if they were trying to figure out what we were thinking.

After several seconds of silence, Katie spoke up: "I'm cool with either one. I mean, I have no problem with sleeping in the same room as James – " cue smirk – "but I'm also fine with sharing a room with Kyle. In fact," she continued on, "I haven't spent a lot of time with Kyle lately, so I think I should just share a room with him, and James and Shane can be together. And we can always switch arrangements if we need to."

Shane threw Katie a grateful smile, and she returned it, tossing her hair over her shoulder. She leaned over to whisper to me, "See? I'm not all evil."

"I never said you were," I murmured back.

She just shrugged and turned back to her chicken wrap.

"You look relieved," Jo said observantly to me. "Didn't you want to share a room with Katie?"

I shifted. "Why are you bringing that up here? And why does it matter?"

"Because I don't want to bring it up later. And it matters, because Katie's one of my best friends."

"It's not really anyone's business what I want, and don't want, to do," I replied. "Katie's awesome, but we're _not_ dating."

"But there's still something going on," Camille piped up. "You two were making out in the coffee shop on Saturday. Did something happen to change your mind?"

"What? Isn't Katie good enough?" Stephanie added in. "What happened, your angel tendencies finally catch up with you?"

I stared at all three girls. "What the hell is your problem? This is between Katie and me. And has it ever occurred to you that maybe there's more to it than what you see?"

"Katie tells us everything, so there isn't anything more to it," Jo snipped.

"Okay, you know what?" Kyle spoke up. "James is right, this isn't any of your business, and it's really rude to be bringing that up here, in front of other people, including Katie. So why don't you three stop acting like The Plastics, and eat your food."

"Kyle, James obviously is hiding something," Jo informed him. "Maybe he's playing Katie. I mean, we did see that slutty cheerleader flirting with him last week."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not playing Katie, and besides, we're. Not. Dating! Okay? She doesn't want to date me, she's said it repeatedly. She won't date a hockey player. And maybe I actually do care about her and I'm just tired of her jerking me around. Has anyone ever thought about that?"

There was a long pause as everyone digested my words, and then Katie threw her napkin down and slid out of the booth. "I'll wait in the car."

"No – Katie – " I groaned, while the girls all glared at me. I tossed my own napkin down as Katie stalked out of the diner, and I got up as well. This trip was off to a great start…

* * *

**Katie's POV**

I walked out of the restaurant and was immediately hit with brisk, cold air. I shivered and wrapped my arms closer around my body as I made my way back to the car. I climbed in and collapsed in my seat, fighting back tears. I had hurt James, I had hurt myself, and now he didn't want to be around me. Sure, he hadn't actually said that, but I could tell by his body language that he was regretting Friday night and Saturday.

I covered my face with my hands, and a tear trickled out, and then another one followed. I curled up in the seat, arms wrapped around my knees, pulling them up to my chest.

James wasn't the only one who was beginning to regret whatever we had been for two days. I was too. As much as I hated to admit it, I really did care about James, and there was part – a huge part – that wanted to be with him. But the thing was, when I looked at him, all I could see were our differences, the gaps, the chasms between us. And we seemed to be completely unable to bridge them.

Maybe we'd be able to if I was more willing, but I wasn't. I was terrified of what I felt for him, of how both my hormones and emotions seemed to spin out of control when I was around him, of all the things he could make me feel at once – fear, happiness, sadness, longing, desire, and something that almost resembled trust.

I had watched my parents' marriage fall apart. They loved each other, they still did, but that didn't change that they couldn't make it work. And if they couldn't stay with each other, then there was no way in hell that James and I could be together and not turn the entire thing into a huge mess. Even more a mess than it already was, I mean. Because this thing was just out of control.

My phone buzzed, and I reluctantly dug it out of my purse. The tears fell faster as I realized that it was a text from Sarah: **What's this I hear about you 'spending time' with James Diamond? He's a hockey player and a distraction. Get rid of him, or else I'm going to leak the news about his little brother's sexuality.**

The van's door slid open and I looked up. James crawled into the van and closed the door behind him, locking it. He gingerly sat down beside me, eyes never leaving my face. I could only imagine what I looked like, face tear stained, eyes red and puffy.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I shouldn't have said all that in front of you."

"But it's the truth," I replied, looking away from him. "We both know this isn't what you want. You're the committing type, and I'm not. I don't like hockey players, and I really don't believe in love." Sarah's text rang in my head, and in that moment, I knew exactly what I was about to do. I had no idea how she had found out about Shane, but I had to protect him and James.

"That's not true," he retorted, voice fierce. "We both know it's not."

"Do we?" I turned back to face him. "_The power of love_…gimme a fucking break. Love couldn't save my parents' marriage. Love can't save Kendall from being hurt on the ice. Love hasn't saved me from Sarah. And love isn't going to keep us together."

He paused. "Are you breaking up with me…?"

"How can you break up with someone when you never had a relationship with them?" I wanted to know.

He stared at me. "Katie…Katie-Bear…"

I glanced away once more. "This isn't what you want. You care about me more than I care about you. All I'm doing is leading you on, and it's not fair to you."

"You don't – you don't care about me?" His face crumpled slightly, and I felt my stomach twist with guilt and pain.

"I do, but not the way that you do. I like you as a friend, and I'm attracted to you physically…" God, I was lying my ass off. I couldn't even figure out where I was getting what I was saying. My brain wasn't telling me to say this stuff; it kept on screaming _STOP! STOP_! But the part of me that listened to Sarah, that bent to her every wish, just kept making the words spill straight out of my mouth.

"But you don't want anything to do with me romantically," he stated, his voice turning icy cold.

I was so scared, I realized, so afraid of him and what could happen that I was willing to break his heart to protect mine. And I was terrified of what Sarah would do if I continued to 'spend time' with James. Her leaking the news that Shane was gay would seriously hurt him, and James, and Mrs. Diamond. Mrs. Diamond had been nothing but a sweetheart to me, and James had done so much for me, while all I'd done was jerk him around at every twist and turn.

I blinked back another round of tears. "I'm sorry. But you know I don't date hockey players."

"Whatever." He unlocked the door and climbed out, before facing me, a furious expression on his face, coupled with a wounded look in his eyes. "It always comes back to the fact that I'm a hockey player, doesn't it? And it always will. It's your excuse for not going out with me, it's the one you lean on. And by the time you realize that maybe you should give me a chance, I might have moved on. No, you know what? There is no _might_. I'll be long gone." He slammed the door shut and I watched through the tinted windows as he made his way back to the diner.

I curled back up, sobbing harder than ever, my heart breaking every bit as much as James' was.

* * *

_***Cowers behind a tree* I'm so sorry! I really, really am. I know you guys are probably so mad at me right now, and I don't blame you, I'm pretty mad at myself, but it was necessary for what's coming next. And I really hope you guys will forgive me and still be willing to read this, even though that ^^ just happened. So please forgive me, and please don't hate me, because this isn't the end, the story's still going, and all this was, was a slight turning point. And I know Katie probably seems all over the place, but she's been like that throughout the story, she just got really bad this chapter.**_

_**Happy Valentine's Day, and I hope you guys will still be around for the next chapter.**_


	16. Chapter 16: Back to December

_**Whew, a second update in just a couple of days!**_

_**Disclaimer: I definitely don't own Big Time Rush.**_

_**Guest: I'm gonna hazard a guess that you're upset. Which, considering what happened in the last chapter, I don't blame you for, at all. I'm still pretty upset about it too. And I know it was awful to do it right before Valentine's Day, but I wanted to get the chapter up.**_

_**Thank you to all my loyal readers and reviewers! I love you all so much, and if you're still speaking to me after what happened last chapter, you all deserve lots of chocolate cake, gold medals, and pizza!**_

_**I'm going to say this now: What happened at the end of the last chapter was necessary. And what's going to happen in this chapter as well is necessary. I am a huge Jatie supporter, and at this point in time (and for the past year and a half, since Hot Water), they're my OTP. This is still a Jatie story, and it's not going to end for a little while. The purpose of last chapter and this chapter are to set things up for what's going to happen in the next chapter, and onwards. Part of the problem is that a certain Katie Knight decided to be stubborn and stray from the original plan, a few chapters back. So I had to rework certain things so that they would make sense, and with that came some drama and some angst and some serious-ness. Not my favorite thing to do when it involves Jatie, but it needed to happen. So, I'm going to shut up and sit back so that you guys can read the chapter and decide if you're still talking to me or not. I hope you are, and I hope you manage to enjoy it, at least to an extent :)**_

_**Oh, and yes, the title of this chapter is taken from the title of Taylor Swift's song, "Back to December".**_

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Back to December**

**Katie's POV**

The ride up to the Holly hotel was a quiet one, and it was a relief to finally arrive. We all piled out and made our way into the lobby with our luggage, so that we could check in.

We got our room keys and headed up to the second floor where we would be staying for the next five days.

Kyle and I had ended up with the room beside James' and Shane's. I glanced over at the Diamond boys, but neither of them looked over at me.

Kyle unlocked our room while James did the same for his and Shane's, and our doors seemed to open simultaneously. We walked in, James and Shane into their room, and Kyle and me into ours. Kyle closed the door behind me, and just a few feet away, I heard the Diamonds' door fall shut as well.

Kyle turned to me the second the door was locked and he raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

I fell onto one of the queen size beds as the tears hit me once more.

"You did something, didn't you? What the hell did you do, Katie?!"

I just cried even harder. It was already becoming obvious how big of a mistake I had just made.

Kyle crossed the room and pulled me to my feet, holding me tightly. "Katie…What did you say to James?"

I wordlessly pulled out my phone and got into the text from Sarah, before passing it to him. He looked down at it, and shook his head. "So…what? You told him you couldn't see him anymore because you have a bitch coach?"

"Not – not exactly…"

"Well, what _exactly_ _did_ you say?"

"I said – I said – I didn't care for him as much as he obviously does for me. That I don't have feelings for him, that I'm only attracted to him physically. That I was just leading him on. That love isn't going to keep us together…That I don't date hockey players."

"Oh my God…Katie…fuck. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_!" He let go of me completely and began to pace the room furiously, dark anger crossing his face. He didn't even look at me, and I knew he was every bit as pissed off with me as James, and most likely Shane, was. "I can't fucking _believe_ you did that! You _lied_ to him about your feelings! I know every bit as well as you do that you care about him more than almost anything! You were asking me for suggestions on how to keep a hold of him so that you could work past your commitment issues. And then you go and pull this stunt?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I don't know!" I screamed back. "It just all hit me! I hurt him and he didn't really want anything to do with me, and then I got the text from Sarah, and it just…it just made sense to do that. I didn't want to, I feel beyond horrible – "

"Do you?" Kyle demanded, rounding on me. "Are you even capable of feeling horrible about something you've done to someone? You run from people. You treat them like crap. You just broke James' heart. And I'm seeing his younger brother, so tell me, who's side am I supposed to be on? Who's side do you think I'm going to be on?"

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, sinking down to the ground. "I'm so sorry!"

"Nah uh, sorry doesn't cut it, not with me, and most certainly not with James. And you shouldn't be apologizing to me, anyway. I'm not the one whose heart you just ripped right out!"

"I made a mistake – "

"And now you have to live with that mistake. Now you're going to have to figure out some way to fix it. And it better be soon. If I was James, I wouldn't take you back."

"We were never dating…"

"And you definitely won't be now!"

"Why are you getting so mad at me?!" I yelled. "I'm the one who fucked up, and like you said, you're not the one I screwed over!"

"Because I happen to like James. He's a nice guy who doesn't deserve this. And you've jerked him around so much since his very first day at our high school…He gives you chance after chance and you just throw them away. Plus, believe it or not, I actually want you to be happy. And you're happy when you're around him. I actually thought that you guys going on this trip together would be a good thing, that you could maybe work through some stuff, that you two might actually get together officially. But then you go and pull this, and the other girls didn't help matters either. Makes me wonder if Sarah suggested they grill James or something…"

"I don't – I don't know…" I mumbled helplessly.

Kyle sighed. "Look, just lay low for tonight, okay? Let James cool down, and you can get yourself under control. Talk to him tomorrow. Tell him about the text, he needs to know that your coach is threatening to out Shane. Honestly, where did she get that information anyway?"

"I have no idea," I admitted. "Maybe she overheard James and me talking. Maybe she overheard you and Shane. Maybe she…Well, fuck."

"What?"

"She was patrolling the halls the night of the Halloween dance…"

"That explains so much." He rolled his eyes, layering on the sarcasm. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"James and I were talking…That's the night I found out for certain about Shane's sexuality. She could've so easily heard."

"Katie, we could probably get the school board involved…She can't be allowed to get away with this."

"She's my coach, and I need her."

"Wow. Are you serious?! She just keeps ruining your life and now she's bringing other people into it, and you're just going to let her get away with it because she's your coach?!"

"Yes. My dad has constantly reminded me that he doesn't pay her to be nice – he pays her to make sure I win. And she does that."

"And you actually want me to believe that you have morals?" Kyle shook his head. "Whatever. Keep her around. Just make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else, got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. So…let's see if there's anything good on TV…"

We settled in to flip through the channels. About fifteen minutes into an episode of _Bones_, Kyle looked over at me, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You don't like change, don't you? You're afraid of it."

I blinked over at him. "What're you talking about?"

"You're afraid of change. When your parents split up, everything changed. You lost Kendall, or so it seems, your dad stopped paying attention to you, and he hired a new coach for you. And now things have settled down, but James and Shane showed up, and they're threatening your world. You don't want to lose Sarah, because as psycho as she is, she's still your coach. She's a form of stability. You're afraid of James because he's completely usurping everything that you thought you knew. For the first time, you really care about someone, and not just as a friend. You're actually distracted. And the person who you care about, who's distracting you, happens to be a hockey player. You can't handle change."

"Well…yeah…"

He shook his head. "I should have seen it before. This doesn't excuse what you did, but it puts things into a little more perspective now."

I stared at him, but he just shrugged.

We ended up ordering room service for dinner, which we ate while watching _Casablanca_. About halfway through, Kyle glanced over at me again. "Do you mind if I go over to see Shane?"

I shook my head. "Go ahead. I think I just want to be alone tonight anyway."

"Okay." He got to his feet. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

He headed out the door, leaving me all alone with my thoughts.

* * *

**Kyle's POV**

I closed the hotel room door behind me, and instead turned to face the next one, the one Shane and James had disappeared through several hours earlier. I really doubted that James wanted to see me, but hopefully Shane wouldn't hold Katie's actions against me. I certainly wasn't siding with her on this one.

Don't get me wrong, I felt bad because I knew she felt awful about the way she had broken up, or rejected – whatever term you want to use – James, but she was the one who had made the decision. And I couldn't stand behind lying to him the way she had, even if she had done it partly in order to protect Shane. There were other ways to protect him, and those ways didn't include hurting someone she cared about.

I took a deep breath as I eyed the door. I couldn't let Katie's mistake affect Shane and me, but I also couldn't let her mistake make both her and James miserable either. I had to do something…I just wasn't sure what.

With another deep breath, I knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened, and I found myself looking up about two inches at Shane. His somber expression changed completely as his face lit up.

"Who is it?" I heard James call.

"It's Kyle."

"Whatever."

Uh oh…that didn't sound like it boded well for me.

Shane turned back to me. "Come on in." He stepped back and I walked into the hotel room. It looked like a mirrored version of Katie's and my room, with the heads of the beds pressed against the back wall, along the wall that separated our room from theirs. It was where our beds were situated, and I almost smiled at the thought that there was only a thin wall separating us from each other.

"So, what's up?" Shane asked as he closed the door behind me.

I bit my lip. "I want to talk about Katie."

"Oh, and that's my cue to leave." James had been lounging on one of the beds – the one that mirrored Katie's, oddly enough – but the second I mentioned Katie's name, he was on his feet.

"James – " Shane began, but James held up his hand.

"Just save it, okay? Please? I'm going to look around."

Shane sighed as James walked across the room and left, closing the door behind him.

"He's pretty torn up about this, isn't it?" I asked Shane.

"Very. I mean, I don't blame him, but…I warned him. And he swore he wouldn't let her hurt him…But it's only been a few days and she's completely crushed him."

"She's pretty beaten up about this too," I pointed out.

"Well, that's sad, but she's not my brother. And she deserves to be."

"I know. Believe me, I do. She got herself into this mess, and she feels awful about it. But, she lied. She does have feelings for James, she does care about him, and she does want to be with him. But she's afraid of commitment, and she's afraid of change, and there's another player in this game."

Shane blinked at me questioningly.

"Sarah. Her coach. She knows you're gay, and she told Katie that if she didn't stop seeing James, she'd out you."

"Oh…Well, that's just awesome. Just fucking awesome." He sank down onto his bed, running his hands over his face.

"I know, but Katie's going to make sure that she doesn't hurt you. We'll all make sure," I added, sitting down beside him and putting my arm around him. "James and I won't let her hurt you, you know we won't. And if she outs you, then she's going to have to out me too. We'll come out of the closet together if nothing else."

He silently nodded.

"Good." I pecked his lips before pulling back. "But I also want to get those two together – officially together, I mean. They need each other. Or, at the very least, Katie needs James. She's so much happier when she's with him, Shane. She's more relaxed, more herself. You mostly see the bitchy, bratty side of her, but it sounds like James sees the Katie that she only shows to a few people. She really cares about him, and she really needs him, and she's going to go crazy if she loses him."

"She pushed him away, Kyle," Shane replied. "And I'm not sure I want to help her fix her mistake, not when there's the possibility that James is just going to get hurt again."

"I know. I don't want her to hurt him either. But she really does need him. He balances her out. They're complete opposites, but there's just something there. You know what I mean? It's kind of like us. We're opposite on a lot of stuff, but somehow it just seems to work."

Shane sighed. "I'll do this, but only because I know it's eating you up inside, and it's killing James. I'm not doing this for Katie. And after this, I don't want anything to do with her. And I feel like by doing this, I'm just throwing my brother to the wolves again. She's already hurt him once, Kyle. Who's to say that she won't do it again?"

"I don't know. There's a good chance that she will. But there's an equally good chance that she won't."

"Well, I don't have any ideas on how to get those two together. If you have a suggestion, throw it out there, but I got nothing."

I sighed. The same went for me.

"You going to head back to your room soon?" Shane asked me, turning his head to look at me.

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Good. Cuz I don't."

I smiled slightly and kissed him again.

He kissed me back, arm coming to wrap around my lower waist and pulling me closer. I placed my hand on his jaw, deepening the kiss, and he sighed against my lips, before pulling back.

"You know," he said, "it's times like these that make me extremely happy I'm nothing like my brother. And that you're nothing like Katie," he added as an afterthought, and I chuckled.

"Because you get to kiss me?"

"Well, that. But mostly just because I get to be with you."

I felt a wide smile spread across my face. "Let's make a promise now, that whatever happens with Katie and James, we won't let it affect us."

He nodded, holding me tightly. "They're not us. And we're not them."

"Right. And we never will be."

* * *

**James' POV**

I had no idea where I was going to go when I left my hotel room. All I knew was that I wasn't going to stay in there while Kyle and Shane talked about Katie.

My head was still spinning from what had happened earlier in the van: "_Love isn't going to keep us together…How can you break up with someone when you never had a relationship with them…You care about me more than I care about you. All I'm doing is leading you on…I like you as a friend…You know I don't date hockey players_…"

I clenched my fists as the echoes of her rejection rang through my mind, slamming into my inner skull. I could already feel a headache coming on.

I stalked through the hall and down the stairs to the ground floor. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I almost didn't hear someone call my name.

"James? James Diamond?"

I spun around and found myself looking towards a pretty girl with straight strawberry blonde hair. I blinked. She looked really familiar, but I was having trouble placing her.

She smiled at me. "Sorry, you don't recognize me, do you?"

"No, I do, it's just my head's a little…elsewhere right now."

"Oh. Well, I'm Lauren Winters. I'm in your geometry class."

"Oh…okay. Right, yeah, duh. I knew that, I totally knew that."

She laughed. "It's cool if you didn't. I sit behind you. I really only know who you are because my older brother used to play hockey for La Castillo high school, and he drags me to all the hockey games. Anyway, what're you doing up here?"

"You mean here, at Holly hotel?"

Lauren nodded.

"I'm here with some friends – my brother and the Knights and Carlos Garcia and Logan Mitchell; and Stephanie King and Camille Roberts and Jo Taylor."

"Really?" she gave me a half interested, half flirtatious look as she cocked her hip and turned her head sideways, pursing her lips slightly. "I didn't think you hockey players got along with the ice skaters."

"We…we really don't. This whole trip was a mistake, I'm not even sure what I'm doing up here."

"You wanna talk about it? How long have you been up here?"

"For about four hours…"

She raised an eyebrow. "And you're already ready to give up on it?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, can I convince you to give it a chance? Maybe over dinner?"

I stared at her. Was she – was she asking me out?

She gave me a small smile, and I found myself nodding. "You know what? That sounds really great." I smiled at her, and she beamed at me.

"That's awesome. I'm here with my parents, but I know they'll let me go when I tell them I found someone from school here. Hang on." She pulled out her phone and gave her mom a quick call, before hanging up and turning back to me. "The hotel restaurant work? It's snowing like crazy out there, so I don't think we'd really want to go anywhere."

I walked over to the window and peered out. She was right, the snow was falling like mad outside.

"The hotel restaurant definitely works." I held my arm out to her and she took it, giggling.

"Why on earth don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked me as we walked towards the restaurant. "You're so nice and you're really hot. And you're obviously straight."

"Well, I kind of had a complicated situation with a girl, but it's completely over now."

"You sure?" She raised her eyebrows at me. "Because I'd hate to be the 'other' girl."

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Good." We reached the restaurant and sat down at a small table. The waiter brought us menus a couple minutes later and we ordered drinks.

"So, how long have you been here?" I asked Lauren curiously as I opened my menu.

"Since Monday," she replied. "And I've been bored out of my mind. I'm not really into skiing and snowboarding and all those things they have up here, so I've kind of just been camped out in front of the TV."

I laughed. "Maybe I can get you into snowboarding."

"You snowboard?"

I nodded. "A little. There aren't any mountains in Minnesota, where I'm from, but when I was younger we'd go to Aspen during winter break and my dad would teach my brother and me how to ski and snowboard."

"That's so cool," she gushed. "Are you any good?"

"I like to think so, but I haven't snowboarded in years. With my luck, I'd probably end up dragging you down the mountain."

"Now that sounds like fun," she chuckled. "How about skiing? You like that?"

"Not so much, it's not really my thing."

"Mmm…Hey, you know there's an ice rink here, right?"

I looked at her over my menu. "There is?"

She nodded. "There is. It seems like a pretty good one too."

I immediately thought of Katie. She could rent skates and practice her routines…But then I quickly shook that thought out of my head. I was doing my very best not to think about her, but apparently it wasn't going so well…

Lauren peered at me. "So…when did the complicated thing with the girl end?"

"At about twelve-thirty this afternoon."

She stared at me.

"It's not as bad as it sounds. We were never together. It was kind of a friends with benefits relationship that lasted from Friday night to, well, this afternoon. And she ended it."

"Why?"

"Because I care about her more than she cares about me."

"Okay, can I just say that whoever this girl is, she's a total bitch?" Her eyes glinted angrily.

"I know…"

"Why wouldn't she care about you?" she wanted to know.

"She doesn't date hockey players," I said bitterly.

"Oh…You were with one of the ice skaters, weren't you…? Duh, you said it ended this afternoon, of course you were. You're all up here together."

"Yeah. She doesn't like hockey."

"Those ice skaters think they're so pretty and popular, but they're all bitches," Lauren said fiercely. "I've been dealing with Katie Knight since ninth grade. She and my best friend were running against each other for homecoming queen last year, and Katie did a smear campaign, where she spread a whole bunch of lies about my friend. I can't stand that girl."

"Katie did that?" The words sounded so sad and timid and naïve to me.

She nodded.

I bit my lip, automatically trying to come up with an excuse for her behavior, but nothing came to mind. I saw flashes of the volleyball incident in PE, and then after, when we almost blew up the chem. lab. Then there was the teasing and the taunting when I refused to let her set Shane up with Kyle. But then scenes raced through my mind: Us dancing together at the Halloween dance; when we accompanied Shane and Kyle to the drive-in; her dashing out of the concession-stand-thing there when she admitted that her coach was turning her towards anorexia; when she took me to the high school's theater and listened to me recite a monologue from Shakespeare's play _All's Well That Ends Well_; our first kiss…

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I'm really, really sorry for what she did."

"I am too. But hey, it's in the past."

"Yeah…"

"Was it Katie? The one who you were doing…whatever it was you were doing…with?"

I wordlessly nodded.

"She's gorgeous," Lauren said after a three second beat. "But she scares most guys, with good reason. So, you're probably braver than the others."

"Or just stupider. She went after me when I first started at La Castillo high school, because I was a hockey player, so she couldn't like me on principle."

"So, what happened?"

"She pushed me a little too far so I pushed back, and then…I don't know. It just seems like there was a lot of explosions." I laughed a little bitterly. "We drive each other crazy. We can work as friends, but there's just too much…we're like a ticking bomb that could go off at any moment."

"That could be both good and bad," Lauren said softly.

"It really depends on the day," I agreed.

"Well, I'm sorry. You're obviously hurting, and you definitely care about her a lot."

"Thanks. And thanks for listening. I'm actually starting to see things more in perspective now." And I was, too. I was beginning to realize that, no matter how much sexual tension Katie and I had, it was never going to work. We were always on the verge of exploding, and that wasn't healthy. And I couldn't be with someone who didn't feel the same way about me. Besides, there was nice, sweet, pretty girl who actually did like me, and I was having dinner with her. I could have been a lot worse off.

"You're welcome, and it's not a problem."

I smiled at her, just as the waiter returned with our drinks. We gave him our entrée orders, and he headed off again.

"So, you guys have a hockey game in a few weeks," Lauren commented. "Are you excited or nervous?"

"Kind of both. But we've been training hard, so I think we'll be okay."

"That's good. Well, my brother's definitely going to make me go to the game with him, so I'll be there cheering for you."

"Thanks. That's really sweet."

"Well, I try." She tossed her hair and winked at me, and I chuckled. I actually really liked her. She wasn't Katie, but that was okay, because Katie and I obviously weren't going to happen.

The waiter came back a little while later with our food, and we dug in, chatting in-between bites of food. At last, we paid and got up.

"So, I should probably head back up to my room," Lauren told me as she faced me.

"Can I walk you up?"

"Please? I'm on the second floor."

"Cool. So am I."

She smiled at me, and we headed off up to her room. She was just a little ways down from where Shane and I were. I glanced at Katie's and Kyle's door, and wondered if Katie was in her room at that moment…

I walked Lauren to her door and she smiled up at me. "Thanks for dinner, James."

"No problem," I smiled back. "Hopefully we'll get to hang out a little more while we're both here."

"Yeah, definitely. I'm here until Saturday, so…"

"Okay. Yeah, we'll definitely have to get together before then," I nodded.

"Agreed. Well…I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon." She turned back to her door, but glanced back up at me. Our eyes locked, and I took a deep breath as my last words to Katie echoed through my mind, spurring me: "_By the time you realize that maybe you should give me a chance, I might have moved on. No, you know what? There is no __**might**__. I'll be long gone_…"

I pressed my lips to Lauren's. She let out a surprised gasp, but kissed me back, hand coming up to cup the back of my neck, and I trapped her between me and the wall, deepening it, while I waited for the fireworks and explosions to go off, but there was…nothing. None of the eye-popping, jaw-locking, mouth-dropping sparks that seemed to ignite every time Katie and I touched.

I pulled back from Lauren after a few more seconds, and she looked up at me, but before either of us could say anything, there was a small squeak from down the hall.

We both glanced around, and my stomach seemed to drop straight through the floor.

Katie was standing in her doorway, eyes wide, mouth wide open, and an absolutely heartbroken look on her face.

* * *

**_I know you guys are probably screaming at me and cussing me out and waving your fists at the computer screen, and I don't blame you. I'd be doing the same thing. But there is a reason for what just happened, and this is still Jatie._**

**_I'm not going to lie, I hate bringing in characters out of nowhere, but for this chapter, it was necessary...so, everyone say a quick hi to Lauren Winters, the girl from James' geometry class. Oh, and it has been brought to my attention that I haven't really mentioned certain characters for the last couple of chapters, and that's true, I haven't. The reason is that they've either been Jatie-centered, or there just hasn't been room for them. Don't worry though, those characters will be coming back in. Right now, I'm just trying to push us through the Jatie angst (if you can even call it angst, which I'm not sure you can), so this chapter had kind of a one track mind, as will the next chapter._**

**_Anyway, if you guys are still speaking to me (and I hope you are!) then please review and let me know what you think of James, Katie, and hell, even Lauren. And if you need to yell at me using all caps or need to cuss me out, then go for it, I'll understand. I just hope you guys don't abandon this story, and that you'll be around for the next chapter, because it won't be Jatie sadness forever. I love you guys, and I appreciate all the support you've all given me, so thank you, and thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter for being so understanding :)_**


	17. Chapter 17: Regrets and Relationships

**_Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Big Time Rush. If I did, the full version of "Shot in the Dark" would have been put on YouTube long before now, and it would have been officially released._**

**_Guest: I'm glad you didn't go caps locks on me! And I'm glad you still love this story :) Anyway, thank you so very much for reviewing, I really appreciate it._**

**_Guest#2: Yay! Thank you so much! And I'm happy you liked the Shane/Kyle scene. Thank you for reviewing!_**

**_Guest#3: I'm sorry you had to wait for this chapter. But I hope you'll still like it. Thank you very much for reviewing :)_**

**_THANK YOU SO, SO, SO, SOOOOO MUCH to everyone who is reading this story, has reviewed, favorited, or followed it. And thank you so much to everyone who's still loyal to this story, even through all the Jatie angst. I love you guys so much and I can't even begin to let you guys know how grateful I am._**

**_So, a couple of chapters ago, this story topped 200 reviews! So thank you for that as well! Also, who else is freaking excited that "Shot in the Dark" is on YouTube now? I really hope this means that it'll be on Big Time Rush's third album!_**

**_Okay, so I actually rewrote most of this chapter, because the original one was totally wrong. Some of you will probably think that this chapter is totally wrong for the story, and I won't blame you. But once again, there's a reason for all the Jatie angst. Also, Katie's stubborn. So blame it on her, kay?_**

**_I'm going to stop talking now, though I will say an early Happy Birthday to Dana2184! She's been with this story from the very beginning, and is so sweet and supportive, even when she cusses me out for continuous Jatie sexual frustration and angst ;)_**

**_Anyway, enjoy the chapter :)_**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Regrets and Relationships**

**Katie's POV**

I was pretty bored and lonely after Kyle left our hotel room. I tried to focus on TV, but I couldn't stop thinking about James. If I hadn't rejected him earlier, he would have been here with me. It didn't matter if we weren't making out or anything. We could have been playing a game or watching some lame reality show, but I don't think I would have cared. It was just simply the fact that we were together and could entertain each other. We could make fun of the reality show, or the stupid comedy, or whatever it was that was on TV, and we would have had a blast together.

I had messed up so badly.

It was almost nine when I heard voices out in the hall – a girl's voice, and…James' voice? What the hell? Furrowing my brow, I got to my feet from where I had been sitting on my bed, and padded to the door, just as the talking stopped. I curiously opened the door, and let out a pain stricken noise as I tried to take in what I was seeing: James kissing some random girl in the middle of the hallway.

I felt like stomach had reached into my body and was trying to yank out all of my vital organs, while simultaneously taking a sledgehammer to my heart.

James had the girl wedged between his body and the wall, and her hand was at the back of his neck, pulling him closer. It was like watching a train wreck…All I wanted to do was look away, to slam the door shut and lock it and stay in my hotel room for the rest of my life, never having to face anyone ever again. But then, he pulled away from her and they stared each other, and I couldn't help but remember all the times he had locked eyes with me. Unbidden, a small, sad squeak passed through my lips, and James and the slut both turned around to find me watching them, completely horrorstruck.

James opened his mouth – the mouth that was now covered in some kind of sparkly lip gloss. "Katie…"

But I just choked out a sob and retreated back into my room, slamming the door shut and locking it.

I leaned against the door, tears streaming down my face as I covered my mouth with my hand, doing my very best to muffle my body-racking sobs.

I had recognized the girl. Her name was Lauren Winters, and her best friend, Misty Lyons, had run against me for homecoming queen the year before. I _may_ have spread some rumors about Misty, but it wasn't like she wasn't doing the same thing with me. I heard some very interesting things about me during our campaigns.

So yeah, maybe neither of us were angels, but we had done what it had taken to win. And Lauren and Misty just hated me because I had ended up kicking Misty's ass. And now every time I'd pass one of them in the hall, they'd just glare at me, which I'd usually answer by blowing a kiss at them, followed by a simple smirk.

But now Lauren had James. Or…kind of had him…? Or…something…All I knew was that they had kissed. I didn't even know what the hell she was doing here. And besides, James and I had just finished whatever it was earlier that day.

That man whore! He couldn't even have waited twenty-four hours to recover before he went and kissed another girl?

I sighed. Obviously he didn't need twenty-four hours to recover. He was perfectly fine with going out with another girl. A girl who wasn't me. Some slutty, average height blonde with a C-cup chest who was probably throwing herself at him. She was everything I wasn't, and everything I usually didn't want to be. But the fact remained that she had been the one kissing James out in the hall, not me. He had said that he would move on, and he had. Guess I wasn't that difficult to get over.

I'm not sure how long I stayed, leaning against the door. As much as I hate to admit it, there was a huge part of me that really, really wanted James to come after me, to tell me that it was a mistake, that I was the only girl he was interested in.

But he never did.

I finally kicked away from the door and began to get ready for bed. I crawled between the unfamiliar sheets, shivering slightly at the cool, smooth fabric against my skin.

I laid awake for hours and hours, just playing the scene in the hallway out in my mind, the way he had kissed her, pressing her against the wall, the way she pulled him closer to her.

I wasn't an expert on kissing, but I was pretty sure that they had at the very least enjoyed it.

I ground my teeth, setting my jaw. I wondered if she was as good a kisser as me, or if she was even better. Did they have as much chemistry as James and I obviously had? Had she discovered how much he liked it when the girl bit down on his lower lip, tugging hard at it?

I was willing to bet that she was just a rebound, but still. It hurt. It fucking _hurt_. I had never thought that seeing someone kiss someone else could be so painful, but I felt like I should have been dead and buried by now. I tossed and turned, and finally drifted off to sleep. I never heard Kyle come in, but when I woke up the next morning, he was laying in the other bed, sound asleep.

I sighed and pushed the covers off of me, crawling out of bed. I grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom to do my morning routine. I brushed my teeth and showered, before getting dressed, and heading out into the hall. Apparently they had an ice skating rink here, and I intended to use it as much as I could while I was here.

On my way down to the rink, I passed by the hotel restaurant/dining area. I sneaked a glance in and saw James sitting at a table with _Lauren_. They looked like they were sharing a huge stack of pancakes, topped with whipped cream and cherries. She was laughing at something he had said, and he was smiling at her. As I watched, he flipped his bangs out of his eyes, and she playfully reached over to smooth out his hair.

I crept into the room, keeping my distance so that they wouldn't see me, going in just far enough to hear her giggle and say, "It's _really_ soft."

"Thanks," he replied. "I know it's vane, but I try to spend some time on my hair in the morning, even though after hockey practice I always have a serious case of helmet hair."

She giggled again. "Well, I bet even with helmet hair you look cute."

Oh, gag me with a fucking spoon. What a fucking flirt.

James flashed her another smile. "Thanks. I can only hope."

"I'm sure you do. You'd look cute no matter what." I watched, completely disgusted, as they leaned in to peck each other's lips.

Well, that was just gross.

I stormed out of the restaurant and to the front desk, where I rented skates and made my way to the ice rink. Once I was there, I plopped down heavily on a bench and undid my shoes, before sliding my skates on. I laced them up and got to my feet, walking over to the opening to the rink. I stepped out onto the ice and immediately relaxed. Now _this_ was where I belonged.

The second my skates hit the ice, I was soaring, more graceful than a swan, more limber than a cat. Damn, I had missed this. I did a spin in midair and landed neatly, before attempting another leap.

My mind turned to our finals in January. They took place the week after we returned to school, which gave us only so much time refresh our memories on everything. And I needed to pass my English final so that I could skate again. Now that James was obviously out of my life, at least for the most part, I could focus on skating and perfecting my routines. At least losing him wouldn't go completely to waste. I wouldn't be as distracted as I had been, and I could give ice skating my all again. I could nail the annual spring competition in northern Minnesota. I could maybe eventually make my way to the winter Olympics in another five years, if I worked hard enough at it. And I was determined to. Nothing, not a boy, not a bitchy coach, not family drama, was going to stop me from getting to the place that I deserved. And if that was the Olympics, then all the better.

And before long, I wouldn't even remember the boy who's heart I had broken, who had broken my heart in turn. Before long, James Diamond would only be a memory, tucked away in the back of my mind.

And I couldn't wait for that day to come.

James Diamond, eat your heart out. And to celebrate my old sense of freedom and independence, I did a triple spin in midair.

* * *

**James' POV**

I was never going to be able to get the expression on Katie's face out of my mind. I had never seen anyone look so sad or hurt or betrayed or…broken.

After she had run back into her room, closing the door with a loud _bang_, I had quickly apologized to Lauren. She had assured me that it was totally fine, and that she'd see me later, before going into her own hotel room.

I had walked down to Katie's room and stood outside her door for the longest time, trying to figure out what I should say. I had no idea if I needed to apologize to her or tell her that she had no business being upset when she had completely rejected me earlier. I hemmed and hawed between the two, going back and forth between guilt and self-righteousness, but I never knocked on her door.

I didn't see Katie at all the next day. I hung out a little bit with Lauren on Thursday, and was really surprised. She was athletic, having played soccer and baseball since she was ten, and she loved to eat. No worries there about her being anorexic. And it turned out that, because of her brother, she knew quite a bit about hockey. She didn't resent it and she didn't hate me on principle for playing it. In fact, she even asked if it was okay for her to come watch one of my practices when school started back up. Naturally, I was over the moon that a girl was actually interested in watching me play, so I said _yes_ right away. The only thing I was worried about was that she would see me live through one of my spastic moments, and then she wouldn't be interested in me anymore. But I wasn't even all that concerned about it. Katie might have been judgmental enough to ditch me after that, but Lauren wasn't. She seemed to like me for me, and that made a _really_ nice change.

"So, tell me about this girl," Mom said to me on Friday morning. I was getting ready to take Lauren out for her very first – and probably only – snowboarding lesson, and I had called my mom to give her an update on what was happening. "She sounds nice."

"She is. She's kind of the antithesis of Katie. She's about 5'5, has strawberry blonde hair, these beautiful blue eyes, and she's just really nice. She plays soccer and baseball, she watches hockey with her brother, and she wants to come to one of my practices."

"She sounds lovely," I could hear Mom's smile in her voice.

"Doesn't she?"

"She does! I want to meet her when you guys get back. Has Shane met her?"

"He did for, like, two seconds yesterday. But he gave me the double thumbs up behind her back, so I took that to mean that he approved," I laughed. "And Kyle was with Shane, and he was really friendly to her. So I don't think he holds me dating someone else against me."

"Well, he shouldn't," Mom said firmly. "You and Katie were never dating. I don't know what you two were, but you didn't classify yourselves as boyfriend/girlfriend, so it obviously doesn't count."

"It doesn't," I agreed. "And she rejected me, not the other way around."

"Right. Don't get me wrong, I like Katie, I really do, but if she can't commit to you, then she's not worth it. And I'm happy that you found someone else."

"So, you don't think I'm moving on too quickly?" I asked, almost anxiously.

"I think you need to move on at your own pace. But like you said, you and Katie were never actually together, and it only lasted for a few days. So I don't think that's enough time to get too emotionally involved. Granted, you did have feelings for her, but you can have feelings for more than one person at a time. So, I support you, and whatever decision you make."

"Thanks," I said gratefully.

"You're welcome. So, you're taking her out snowboarding?"

"Yep. She wants me to teach her, so I said I would."

"That's sweet. When is she leaving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. But we were talking about trying to get together when I get back to La Castillo."

"Okay. Well, it sounds like you really like this girl."

I smiled as I pulled out my snow boots. "I do. I really do."

"Good. Well, I'll let you go, Brad just finished making breakfast."

"_Brad_? He's there?" I fought back the urge to dry heave.

"Yes, he's there. He's keeping me company, since you and Shane are off on vacation."

"Did he spend the night?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, he did."

"Gross."

"Hey, you asked," she pointed out.

"And I wish I hadn't."

She laughed. "Love you, James."

"Love you too." We hung up and I finished getting ready to hit the slopes with Lauren. Before I could head out, however, Shane walked in.

"Hey," he smiled at me. "Going out with Lauren?"

"Yeah, I'm going to give her a crash course in snowboarding."

"Awesome. Well, I'm going to walk around the resort with Kyle. Have you…um…seen Katie since Wednesday?"

I shook my head. I had told the others that she had seen me kissing Lauren, after filling them in about what was going on, letting them know that whatever Katie and I had had was completely over, and while they weren't thrilled that I had gone out with another girl directly after Katie had rejected me, they weren't too happy with her either.

"Well, damn. Kyle said that she's either been stuck in her room, or at the ice rink, boning up her routines," Shane told me.

"Oh."

He nodded. "Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. She needs to get back in practice since once she passes her English final, she'll be back to spending half of her time skating. Maybe even more than that, since she lost so much time on the ice. That's almost too much time to pass, you know? So she's going to have to work extra hard to catch up."

"Well, she's talented, right? She's a natural?"

"Yeah, just like us. And just like you on the stage."

"Right…"

"Anyway, I'm gonna go shower before I head out to meet Kyle. Have fun with Lauren," Shane smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"I will, thanks. And you have fun with Kyle."

"I definitely will."

I grinned and headed out, down the hall to Lauren's room. I knocked on the door and she opened it, beaming at me. "Hi, James! I'm all ready for our snowboarding lesson."

"Awesome." I took her hand and together we headed to the slopes.

We spent the rest of the day snowboarding. Once it began getting dark, we headed back inside, showered and changed, and met up for dinner.

"So," Lauren said as she folded her napkin neatly over her lap, "is this the part where you tell me how much fun you've had, but that we're only going to be friends?"

I blinked at her. "What're you talking about?"

"You're a really nice guy, but you did just go through a heartbreak. I'd understand if you don't really want to get involved with anyone right now."

"Well, it wasn't a real relationship," I pointed out. "And even though I had feelings for her, there wasn't a ton of emotional involvement."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I really want to hear this," she laughed a little awkwardly. "I mean, I like you. A lot. Actually, I've kind of been staring at you in geometry…But not in a stalker way!" she added quickly. "Just in a huh-he's-kind-of-hot sort of way."

I flipped my bangs out of my eyes. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really. So, what you and Katie did…it's not stuff I want to hear about, I don't want the details."

"Fair enough. But my point was, I'm not all that torn up about it."

"So, does that mean the random girl in your geometry class maybe has a chance?" she looked across the table at me hopefully.

I reached over and took her hand. "It means that the random, gorgeous girl in my geometry class has more than a chance. Go out with me?"

Lauren nodded eagerly, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Definitely. And whatever Katie said or did to you, I won't ever do that."

"That's good to know," I replied, smiling back at her.

After a long dinner and an even longer dessert (chocolate brownie cake and hot chocolate), I walked her up to her hotel room. She turned to face me once she reached the door and smiled at me, stroking her fingers down my face. I leaned into her touch, sighing softly. She didn't touch like Katie, and her fingers were longer and a little thicker, which was to be expected since she was taller. But I couldn't help and feel a pang of nostalgia as I remembered how Katie's hand felt in mine, how her fingers felt as she grazed them down my chest.

Lauren lowered her hand and stood on her tip toes, pressing her lips to mine. I kissed her back, hands going to her hips to stabilize her.

Kissing her still wasn't anything like kissing Katie. There was comfort and gentleness and sweetness in the close-mouthed kiss, innocence in the way our bodies barely even touched, but no passion, no fire. But it would work for the time being. Right now, it was what I needed.

After a few moments, Lauren pulled back, flashed me a smile, and headed into her room.

I stuffed my hands in my jean pockets and made my way back down the hall. As I walked, the door to Katie's and Kyle's room opened, and Katie stepped out. I had never seen her look so…not put together. She was in sweats, a sweatshirt, and _UGG_ boots, her hair thrown up in a messy ponytail. She wasn't wearing a single speck of makeup, and she had shadows under her eyes.

She was the most beautiful thing ever.

Well, crap.

Our eyes locked as she closed the door behind her, standing almost frozen in the hall.

There was a long pause, and then I gave her a small nod. "Hey."

"Hey." She shoved her hands into her sweatshirt pockets.

"Heading out?" I asked, sounding awkward even to myself.

Katie nodded. "Going down to the ice rink. I'm trying to practice up, so that Sarah doesn't have any reason to bitch me out when I start back up again."

"Makes sense. Have fun with that."

"Thanks." She kicked away from the door, starting down the hall, but I called her back.

"Katie?"

"Yeah?" she spun around.

"If you have any problems with Sarah or anyone…I'm still here for you."

She pursed her lips. "Thanks, James. I appreciate that. But I don't need a hockey head's help."

"Fine," I replied coolly. "Do it all by yourself. Just remember that if it wasn't for me, your birthday would have been pretty shitty."

Her eyes narrowed and her jaw locked, before snarling out a "Go fuck yourself, Diamond" and stomping down the hall. It was kind of amazing how much noise she could make, considering she was 5'1, tops, was ninety pounds wet, and was wearing _UGG_ boots.

"Don't be upset, I'm sure you wouldn't want to fuck a hockey head anyway," I called after her.

"Fucking ass!" she screamed at me as she jabbed fiercely at the elevator button.

"Gee, don't hold back, let it all out, Katie-Bear," I snarked, and she glared furiously at me.

"I really fucking hate you."

"And I really fucking hate you," I spat.

"Have fun with your girlfriend. I'm sure she'll be everything I'm not."

"She already is," I retorted coldly. "She actually likes me and agreed to go out with me."

For a split second, Katie's bravo faltered, and her bottom lip trembled, her eyes widening. But then her stance was defensive, her ferocious expression holding firm. "Then her standards are pretty low."

"Seems like your standards were pretty low a week ago," I snapped back, trying not to show how much her words had stung.

"I did you a favor," she snarled. "You wanted me so I let you have me. But you'll never have me again."

"Hey, that's fine." I raised my hands in the surrender stance. "I don't want you either. You've been nothing but a bitch to me from day one. And nothing's changed, and I guess it never will." And with that, I retreated into my room. It took all of thirty seconds for me to kick and punch every hard surface, but I was still completely livid and wound up by the time I was finished. When Shane walked in, he found me scribbling _I HATE KATIE!_ on every blank page of paper that I'd been able to get my hands on.

"Dude," he said after a long moment of staring at me. "You two are either going to end up killing each other or fucking each other senseless."

"Don't count on it," I growled. "Apparently Lauren has low standards for liking me."

"Katie said that?"

"Fuck yeah she did."

"Well, we all know she's a little bitch. But there's also the fact that if that's true about Lauren, Katie's standards were pretty low recently."

"She said she was doing me a favor."

Shane snorted. "Please. She was hurt and angry and was trying to keep some of her pride and dignity."

"She broke up with me! And we weren't even dating!"

"So?"

"So, she doesn't have any right to be hurt or angry."

"I agree. But that doesn't change the fact that she is."

"Right…"

"Well, if you two ever manage to have a civil conversation, make sure you ask her why exactly she ditched you."

"Whatever." I plopped down on my bed. "She's a bitch. I should have run for the hills the first day I met her."

"Maybe."

"I can't believe I got so involved with her. I'm never getting involved with someone like her ever again," I sighed.

"That's it! Stand up for your beliefs!"

"All it did was create a huge mess."

"And who hates cleaning?"

"Exactly. I'm not cleaning up after her. She's history. Who wants to be with someone like her?"

"You did."

"I was obviously delusional."

"Obviously."

"I'm going to bed now."

"You do that," Shane replied.

The next afternoon, Lauren left with her parents to head back to La Castillo. I ended up hanging out with the guys. We spent the day on the slopes, and once we had showered and changed clothes, we hung out in Kendall's and Carlos' room, chowing down on pizza and watching an Adam Sandler comedy.

"All I can say," Carlos said to me as he reached for a third slice of pepperoni pizza, "is that I'm glad I'm not you. The ice skaters are going to be after your blood when we get back to school."

"Katie's the one who broke up with me," I snapped. "Why am I getting blamed for this?!"

"Uh, because that's what they do?" Kendall snorted. "And you moved on past her pretty quickly, which is just not allowed when dating a figure skater, apparently."

"This is such bullshit," I growled, tearing into a piece of pizza. "She told me she didn't want me, that she didn't have feelings for me, and I told her I was going to move on. And then I do, and I get attacked for it? What the fuck is their problem?"

"They're snobs, James," Kendall said bitterly. "They're snobs and they're bitches."

"Except for Camille," Logan piped up. "Camille's not that bad."

"No, but the other ones are."

"So, does that make me a snob and a bitch?" Kyle wanted to know as he licked a string of cheese from his lips.

We all shook our heads.

"Good," he said firmly, "because I don't like what they're doing. Honestly, I think this whole thing is totally hypocritical, and once I get the chance, I'm going to try to talk some sense into them. I just don't know if it'll work…"

"Well, it's worth a shot, right?" Shane asked. "I mean, they can't be completely unreasonable…"

"Right," Kyle patted his arm. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Just give me an estimate," I said to Kyle. "How screwed am I?"

"From one to ten, one being not screwed at all and ten being totally screwed? I'd say a fifteen."

"Fuck."

* * *

_**So, yeah, not a ton of humor in this chapter. I know the last few chapters have been serious, but I'm hoping to get the lightness back into the story. Hopefully this chapter had a little bit in it. And yeah, James and Katie are at each other's throats again...And then there's the ice skaters...**_

_**So, review, okay? I really want to hear what you guys think about what's happening, and your reviews both motivate me to write more, and actually gives me ideas. You guys help to make the chapters and story better, and believe me, without you, this story would be pretty awful, so thank you all, and I love you! Oh, and the review button loves you guys too ;P You help make it feel less lonely. Seriously, you do ;)**_


	18. Chapter 18: Ice Rinks and Ice Queens

**_Oh my gosh! I'm finally updating one of my stories! It's 12:45 AM, but I just finished this chapter and I wanted to get it up as quickly as possible._**

**_Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own Big Time Rush. And yes, that's extremely painful to admit._**

**_Guest: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it :) Let's hope so...;) Thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it!_**

**_Special thanks to UnpublishedWRITTER for mentioning Sparks the Rescue's song "She's a Bitch and I'm a Fool". It makes an appearance in this chapter, and you guys can thank her for that._**

**_And as always, THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read this story! I love you all so much, and you guys do keep me going, even if I sometimes take forever to update._**

**_I'm going to say right now that I'm so, so sorry that it's taken me so long to update any of my stories. I got hit really hard with school, and I'm still kind of bogged down, but hopefully it won't take me quite as long to update next time. Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, and I hope I didn't lose any readers because of the long-ish wait._**

**_On with the story! Enjoy the chapter, everyone :)_**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Ice Rinks and Ice Queens**

**James' POV**

The weekend went by both quickly and slowly, depending on the moment. There were times when I was relaxed, having fun, hanging with the guys, and then there were others when I found myself dreading leaving Holly hotel and returning home for the holidays and for school.

From what Kyle had said, the ice skaters would be after me with their torches and pitchforks. And I didn't want to have to deal with a witch hunt. And I really didn't like having people with torches and pitchforks after me. For one thing, torches meant burning stuff, and pitchforks were just poky and sharp.

Not exactly fun things to deal with.

I barely saw Katie at all on Saturday and Sunday, and when I did, she glared heavily at me, as if warning me against trying to join her little _ice skaters are better than everyone else on earth _club. Because, you know, that was exactly what I wanted to do when I knew she and her ice skating cronies were going to try to run me out of school with pitchforks and torches.

On Sunday evening, we repacked everything, and Monday morning found us loading everything into the Knights' van and Logan's car.

"Kendall," Katie said bossily to him as she, Stephanie, Jo, and a reluctant looking Camille sauntered over to him, "we're going to take the van, and you and the rest of the hockey heads can ride with Logan."

Kendall's jaw dropped. "You're not taking the van! Have you ever even driven it?"

"Yes, when I was in driver's ed. So, hand over the keys, Kendork."

"No!" he snarled. "Mom trusted me with the van, not you."

"I'm sure she won't mind if I take it," Katie replied, placing her hands on her hips and setting her jaw. "Now. Give me the fucking keys, or I'll tell Mom that the only reason you came here with us was to hook up with my friends. And you know how she feels about her little boy hooking up with anyone. And didn't you once promise her that you'd remain a virgin until marriage?"

"I was ten! She had just seen something on TV about teen pregnancies and made me swear I wouldn't have sex until marriage. She was crying, Katie, _crying_!"

Katie shrugged. "Still, trying to go back on your word. I don't think she'll take kindly to that, do you? And then there's the whole trying to take advantage of my friends."

"What?" Kendall asked blankly.

Katie smirked. "You know ice skaters don't put out. Yet you're still trying to sleep with Jo."

"I am not!"

"Some might consider that sexual harassment. Do you want Jo to sue you for sexual harassment, Kendall?"

I pushed forward. "Why the hell are you doing this? Kendall's not harassing Jo at all. Why are you being such a bitch?!"

"I am a bitch, James. Learn to live with it. Because the bitch is back, and I have the power to make your life a living hell."

"Is that supposed to scare me? I went to a school where Shane and I were bullied every single fucking day. So you threatening me doesn't terrify me. It just makes me want to laugh."

"Go to hell."

"Save me a seat?"

"If you don't get there first."

"I'm pretty sure they have a Hell Express, which you'll definitely get in."

"Uggh. You're such a loser," she groaned. "I can't believe I ever kissed you."

"And fooled around with me. Don't forget that."

"Last time I ever lower myself to fooling around with a hockey head ever again. Anyway, the keys." She snapped her fingers at Kendall, who finally handed them over.

"Thank you!" Katie chirped. We spent the next five minutes switching luggage around, putting our suitcases into Logan's car while the girls shoved their stuff into the back of the van. Kyle paused before joining them, while throwing Shane an apologetic look. Shane just nodded in reply, slipping his hands into his jeans pockets.

At last, we were ready to go. We all piled into our respective vehicles and buckled up. Logan was driving, and Kendall sat up front with him, but Carlos, Shane, and I were crowded tightly into the back, grinding our teeth.

Logan pulled out of the parking lot, followed by Katie, who's tiny frame looked overwhelmed by the van's high seat and steering wheel, and off we went. One by one, Carlos, Shane, and I pulled out our iPods and plugged in.

I sighed as Sparks the Rescue's song _She's a Bitch and I'm a Fool_ came on when I hit shuffle. Great. Even the universe was mocking me right now.

"I_ remember way back when we used to hold each other's hands_

_It was you and me, time drifted off to sea_

_I had you_

_Friday nights with shots of whiskey in the street_

_This town don't feel alive when you go sailing far from me_

_Why can't you see when it meant everything to me, no_

_Why can't I sleep?_

_She's a bitch and I'm a fool, I'm a fool she loves me not_

_And I tried __to play__ it cool but my cool is running hot, oh yeah_

_Felt like a movie when you walked out slowly_

_Stuck on repeat during the last scene_

_I haven't been sleeping well _

_And I can only blame myself_

_When I fight with your photographs_

_And they seem to fight right back, yeah_

_It's always haunting me_

_A thousand words I'm supposed to see_

_A Polaroid of a memory_

_When you were always telling me_

_Why can't you see when it meant everything to me, no_

_Why can't I sleep?_

_She's a bitch and I'm a fool, I'm a fool she loves me not_

_And I tried to play it cool but my cool is running hot, oh yeah_

_Felt like a movie when you walked out slowly_

_Stuck on repeat during the last scene (during the last scene)_

_She's a bitch and I'm a fool, I'm a fool she loves me not_

_And I tried to play it cool but my cool is running hot, oh yeah_

_Felt like a movie when you walked out slowly_

_Stuck on repeat during the last scene_."

I groaned. I was such a fool. I couldn't believe I had let myself get even a little bit involved with Katie Knight. I had known from day one that she was a bitch, and I had still fallen for her. But she had been nice. After the Halloween dance, her attitude towards me – towards all of us – had turned completely around. But now…now everything was just exploding left and right. She was a complete bitch again, and I was left looking stupid. Or maybe it was her…After all, she's the one who broke up with me when we weren't even dating, and just a few hours later I began seeing someone else. Maybe she thought she looked stupid, and that was why she was doing all this. She had been one upped by a hockey head, and she couldn't handle that, so she had to punish all of us for something that was her fault to begin with.

Bitch.

But as much as I hated to admit it, even with her supreme bitchiness, there was a huge part of me that still wanted her. Maybe not how she was at the moment, but how she had been. How I was hoping she would be in the future. I wanted her and badly. Lauren was amazing, but there just wasn't that intensity or power or chemistry with her, like there had been with Katie. And the honest truth was, fighting with Katie was elating, orgasmic almost. It was passionate and raw and hot, and just…just…_us_.

It was what we were, and no matter how many times we yelled at each other, screamed that we hated each other, insisted that we were fucking stupid for making out with each other, the fact of the matter was, there was still that attraction that had been taken to the extreme. I couldn't decide if I wanted to duct tape Katie's mouth shut or fuck her into the wall.

And the fact that I really wasn't rooting for the duct tape didn't seem like a very good ending to this whole mess.

Yeah, let's face it. Katie and I were just getting started.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

"James is right," Camille said as she rested her head against the front passenger window, watching as houses passed by. "You are kind of a bitch."

"I'm aware," I said coolly, clenching the steering wheel a little tighter than usual. "But in this world, it's either fight for your life or go home and die."

"In other words, life's a bitch and then you die," Jo spoke up in agreement from where she sat behind me.

"So, were you two scheming on how best to get the van?" Kyle demanded of Jo and me. "Or just how to get revenge on James, and on Kendall for being his friend?"

"Both," Jo replied. "I told Katie going after a hockey head would be stupid, and now look. She's left looking like a total idiot."

"Well, maybe she wouldn't if she had actually told James why she was ending their – their – whatever the hell it was. But did she? Hell no. And then you guys are all bitching about how James moved on immediately. Well, Katie wasn't exactly innocent either. It takes two to tango, people. And ice skaters aren't excluded from that."

"Well, we should be," I snapped back. "And you're an ice skater, so you should be siding with us."

"But I'm friends with the hockey players," Kyle shot back. "James and Shane have been nothing but nice to me since day one, and we all know you've been a complete and total bitch to them."

Now, if there's one thing I hate, it's being told how to behave by someone who isn't my dad. And if it's my best friend? Yeah, the claws were about to come out.

"Oh, give it a rest," I snarled. "We both know the real reason why you're defending them. You don't give a damn if James has been nice to you, but as long as Shane keeps blowing you, you'll always side with them."

There was a long pause, during which everyone took the time to process what I had just said. The color slowly drained from Kyle's face, and I felt my eyes widen. Oh my God…Had I really just said what I thought I'd said? Had I really just done that?

"Wait a second," Stephanie broke in, addressing Kyle. "You and Shane are gay?"

"Why don't you just ask Katie?" he suggested coldly. "Since she's so eager to blab about everything."

"Kyle – " I began, but he held up his hand.

"Save your breath. I don't want to hear it. God, you really are a total bitch. I don't know why I stayed friends with you for this long."

Hot tears pooled in my eyes and a lump began to grow in my throat. "Kyle – please – I'm so sorry – "

"I don't want to hear it," he interrupted, pulling out his iPod. "I don't want to hear any of your apologies or your excuses. It's done, Katie, as is our friendship."

"I didn't think – "

"No, you didn't. And you never do. You get so intent on getting your way that you completely forget that the ends don't always justify the means. And you're never going to learn it. You've used James, you've used Shane, and you've used me in the past. We both know James is too nice a guy for you. We both know you were lucky to ever get his attention. And we both know that you royally fucked it up. And I'm not siding with James and Shane because I'm with Shane. I'm siding with them because they're truly the better people. I'm sick and tired of watching you guys constantly walk all over people and push them out of your way! You judge, and you bitch, and you treat people like shit, and I've had enough. So I'm done. Ice skating isn't worth putting up with your guys' bullshit anymore. Tell the entire school I'm gay. Tell them who I used to like! Tell them I'm a fucking fairy if that's what you want, see if I fucking well care. Just go to hell, all of you." And with that, he stuffed his earbuds into his ears, and refused to speak to us at all for the rest of the ride.

I blinked back tears, doing my best to focus on the road, but my eyes continually blurred. I turned on the radio to try to keep my mind off of what had just happened, but all I could get was a twangy, angsty country station.

Great. Even the radio was conspiring against me.

We stopped by a Burger King for lunch, but Kyle refused to sit with us. Instead, he bought his food and took it out to the van, where he spent our entire rest stop.

"So," Stephanie said as she took a bite of her cheeseburger, "Kyle and Shane are, like, together, _together_?"

I nodded wordlessly as I poked at the salad I was trying to get down. The cheeseburger smelled sooo good, but I had been pigging out on chips and popcorn and ice cream and hot chocolate for the past five days, and I was sure I must've gained a few pounds. And Sarah would more than likely make me weigh myself in front of her on the very first day back at practice. I couldn't let her know that I had gained weight, and I couldn't let my friends know either.

I eyed all three of them, almost enviously. Well, maybe a little more than almost. They were all beautiful and skinny and taller than 5'1 and they carried themselves effortlessly. Plus, as far as I knew, they didn't have a maniacal skating coach telling them how to eat or drink.

"Wow…Neither of them really ever struck me as the gay type."

"So?" I snapped. "Stereotypes are usually complete bullshit. The point is that they really like each other, and that should be enough. And please don't tell anyone…"

"But Kyle said – "

"Well, don't say anything about Shane. James told me he was bullied at their old high school, and he's not ready to be out in the open about it yet."

"Okay," Camille shrugged. "That's not a problem. Besides, who cares if they like boys or girls? They're both nice and really good guys. And hey, if they're happy, then go them!"

"Exactly," I agreed, taking a bite of my salad. "But I guess the Diamond boys' dad is kind of a homophobe or something…I don't know, the way James explained it was weird."

"You know, you're really stupid," Camille informed me. "You're totally into James, yet you basically told him to go curl up somewhere and die. I mean, it's _James this_, and _James that_, and _James told me_, and come on, give me a fucking break. You want him every bit as much as he wants you."

"He doesn't want me anymore," I corrected her sullenly. "I fucked it up. Okay? I know I fucked it up. He's with Lauren Winters. Slutty blonde bitch."

"Um, hello, blonde bitch, right here," Jo waved her hand in the air.

"You know what I mean."

"What I don't get is how he went from you to Lauren," Stephanie said thoughtfully. "I mean, the girl's pretty and all, but the fact is, you're a tiny little brunette, and you're, like, a 32 B or something – "

"Depends on the bra," I cut in.

"Whatever. So, you're like a 32 B, and the girl's, like, 5'5 or something, and is like a freaking 36 C or a D or whatever, and is just curvy and all, and…Yeah, I'm not seeing the correlation. I mean, does he not have a type? Does he just make out with anything that moves?"

"Well, if that was the case, then he would have tried to make out with all of us a long time ago," Jo pointed out. "I mean, I wouldn't mind too much, the guy's effing hot."

"Hey!" I cried.

"What? You're not with him, so…"

"But my brother's totally into you."

Jo rolled her eyes and bit into her chicken wrap. "Okay, can we please not talk about Kendall? This is about you and James and Kyle and Shane, and Kendall doesn't fit anywhere in that picture."

I shrugged. "So, say whatever it is you have to say and be done with it."

"My point was," Stephanie said, "is that it seems like James chose the exact opposite of you to hook up with."

"You think he's hooking up with her?" I croaked out, my mouth going completely dry.

"Well, maybe not," she retracted. "But they're together, so…"

"Right." I sighed and pushed my salad away. "Why did he have to move on so fast?"

"Because he's a guy and he was hurt and his ego was probably pretty much nonexistent at that point," Camille told me. "Because she was there and willing to listen to him and liked him and that was what he needed after you rejected him."

"Okay, you didn't have to add the last part!" I cried.

"Are you going to go after him at school?" Stephanie asked. "I'm just wondering if I need to bring extra dodge balls." She cracked a grin at me, but I just sighed.

"Depends on how he acts and, well, how I'm feeling, I guess."

"Okay," she shrugged. "Want me to spread rumors about Lauren?"

"That's so tempting…"

She grinned. "I'll do it, you know."

"I know you will. Nah, not right away. We'll see how close they really are…"

"Sounds like a plan." She sucked up the rest of her milkshake and threw her trash away. I followed suit, before heading into the bathroom. I locked myself in a stall and did my business, before coming back out to wash my hands. As I turned the tap on, I looked up into the mirror. My hair hung straight down around my face, and there were deep bags under my eyes. My skin looked pale, and there was a red splotch growing on my chin. Great. Just fucking great. What a time to have a breakout.

I bet Lauren never had breakouts. I bet she got ten hours of sleep at night. I bet her hair was always shiny and bouncy and full of life, just like in those fucking _Pantene_ commercials.

I rubbed soap onto my palms, grinding my teeth together as a mental image of Lauren straddling James flashed through my head. I could see it like I was in a movie theater, and it was rolling across the screen like an Imax movie. _Her hair flew everywhere as she lifted her shirt up. Her chest pretty much spilled out of the bra, and James grinned, sliding his hands around her perfectly proportioned hips. "You're so much hotter than Katie," he murmured, running his hand up and down her back. "I'd take you over her any day."_

I let out a shaky gasp as the bathroom door swung open and the girls trailed in. They all chatted away as they closed themselves into stalls, but I didn't even begin to try to follow their ongoing conversation.

Lauren was everything I wasn't. And apparently, she was everything that James wanted.

And it was too late to change that.

Didn't mean I couldn't remind them who the queen ice bitch was of the school.

I was going to make sure to give them hell when school started again.

Eventually, we got back to La Castillo. It was beyond a relief to see the _Welcome to La Castillo_ sign at the town's boundary. I drove past the Wal-Mart, the Target, the K-Mart, several Mexican restaurants, a couple of Chinese places, every single fast food restaurant you could dream of, the La Castillo mall, the drive-in theater, the high school, and finally, the old ice skating rink.

Nothing new. Nothing special. Nothing important.

But still warm and familiar and perfect and just so homey.

I dropped Kyle off first. I found myself watching him sadly as he dragged his suitcases into his house, not even looking back at the van. I wondered how long it would be before he forgave me…If he ever would…

Just as I was pulling away from the curb, Jo announced, "I just got a text from my mom. She said to drop Steph and Cami off at my house, because their moms and yours are all there."

I furrowed my brow, but drove to Jo's house nonetheless. Sure enough, I spotted my mother's car in the Taylors' driveway. Mrs. King and Mrs. Roberts' cars were also parked in the driveway, taking up the rest of the space, so I pulled over to the curb and parked, before unlocking the doors. We all clambered out of the van and headed up to the front door. Jo opened the door and we all trampled in.

Our mothers were all sitting around the living room, holding mugs of coffee and tea. On the coffee table was a platter of various cookies and fudge, and beside that was another platter of vegetable sticks, with a small dipping bowl of ranch dressing balanced in the very center.

Our moms turned around to look at us, before getting to their feet and hugging us. I hugged my mom back, leaning into her. At least she would still love me no matter what a bitch I was.

"What's going on here?" Jo asked her mom as she pulled back.

"We're having a meeting about what to do with the ice rink," she explained.

"What're you talking about?"

"Well, they're talking about reopening the town ice skating rink, but if that happens, then the high school's going to insist that you girls train there instead."

"But that's really inconvenient," Mom spoke up. "You'll have to drive back and forth between the high school and the ice rink, and that's close to a ten minute drive, and that's when traffic's good. Plus add in parking time and walking time, and you've got fifteen minutes. And when it comes to training, every second counts. Not to mention the fact that the town ice rink will charge more than the high school does. And you'll have to fight for practice time, since not only will you more than likely have a children's and preteen hockey team to war with, but also people who are just skating for the heck of it. You'll have to deal with birthday parties and day outings and beginner skaters who are taking lessons. The high school is a much better choice, since you're already there seven hours a day, but the principle has already told us that if the ice rink is remodeled and reopened, then the school board will insist that you use the town's ice rink instead, since ice skating isn't a school sport, and it sometimes clashes with hockey practice, which actually _is_ a school sport."

"And we considered trying an ice rink in another town," Mrs. Roberts put in. "But the fact is, that's an even longer drive. And you girls are all going to high school fulltime. You've all got lives besides high school and ice skating as well, and that's just the way we want to keep it. You're all sixteen and seventeen, and you shouldn't have to be so focused on something."

"So we're going to fight to keep you girls at the high school," Mrs. King announced with a very Stephanie-like grin. "They're not going to boot you to the curb without having to fight World War III. Besides," she added, "with the amount of money we pay to rent out the ice rink for you girls, they should really rethink making you girls go somewhere else. After all, the second you girls leave, they're going to lose quite a bit of money that could go to whatever the hell it is that they do with it."

"Exactly," Mrs. Taylor agreed. "If they think they're going to win this, then they're sadly mistaken."

"Why isn't Mrs. Stetson or Mrs. Lancaster here?" Camille asked curiously. "They're ice skating moms as well."

"Brenda Lancaster was going to come, but she backed out at the last minute. Something about Kyle not being sure about wanting to continue skating."

I did my best to hide the guilty look that I was sure was crossing my face.

"And Ana Stetson had a spa appointment or something," Mrs. Taylor finished up with a roll of her eyes. "Of course, anything to get out of associating with us. Snob."

The other mothers nodded in agreement, just as the front door opened. We all turned around, and my heart immediately sped up a few beats as the guys trooped in, one by one. James, as usual, looked amazing, but even more so. His hair was messy and his clothes were rumpled from sitting in the car for so long.

He glanced at me, and for a split second, our eyes locked. His eyes were burning, and whether with hatred or lust or both I had no idea. But whatever it was, it was strong enough to make me want to push him into the wall and kiss him until his lips were as swollen as Angelina Jolie's. And then his gaze flickered down to _my_ lips, and I knew at once that there was still a part of him that wanted me every bit as badly as I wanted him. He could hate me as much as he wanted, but the attraction was still there.

Good. Lauren wasn't going to stand a chance.

That bitch was going down.

"Um…what're you guys doing here?" Kendall asked the moms at large.

Mom quickly explained to him what was going on, and Kendall's brow immediately furrowed.

"But – but – ice skating isn't a high school sport. Wouldn't they be better off at the other rink?"

"Weren't you listening?" I snapped. "We'd be fighting for time on the ice, and we'd have to drop out of school completely."

"That's what most professional athletes do," Kendall replied.

James shrugged. "I don't know…As long as there's a second rink, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, actually…about that…" Mom bit her lip. "The second rink, the smaller one, is being closed down, since it's costing too much money to maintain it. So there's only going to be one ice rink at the high school…"

"Forget it," James said sharply. "Hockey is a high school sport. If there's only one rink, then it's rightfully ours."

"We rent out the rink," I snapped, stalking over to him.

"And you can rent out the rink in town. And if it's such a problem, get someone to tutor you part time. You could go to school in the morning and take whatever classes you need, and then skate in the afternoons. You'd probably have more time on the ice that way anyway."

"We're going to stay at the high school rink, where we belong. If anyone doesn't belong, it's the hockey players."

"You want World War III?" James demanded, advancing on me. "You want it with the hockey players?"

"Bring it, Diamond. You're not going to win this battle, and we both know it."

"You wanna bet?" he snarled, and I felt myself take a step back, hitting the wall. He moved closer to me, until our chests were almost touching. "We fight on the ice for the puck every single day. You have nothing on us."

"No?" I shoved him away from me and stomped towards him. "You think you can beat _us_? It's our job to be sneaky and cunning and to _win_. We're in it to win it, unlike you hockey heads. _It's just a game._"

"We never said that," he snapped. "But once again, you ice skaters are so much better than us hockey players. Why don't you go lie about someone else to benefit yourself?"

I raised my hand with the vague impression that I wanted nothing more to slap him, but, as if he was reading my mind, he grabbed my wrist. "I don't think so," he growled. "Not today, Ice Queen."

"Go to hell, Diamond."

"Save me a seat?"

"Believe me, I plan on sending you there first. You're going down," I snarled through gritted teeth.

He glared at me ferociously. "Bring it."

* * *

_**So, I've been waiting awhile to bring up the issue with the ice rinks. It was mentioned in chapter one, but I don't think it's been brought up since. But it was always supposed to play a role in the story, and I'm sorry it took so long for it to come up again.**_

_**Anyway, what'd you guys think of the chapter? Katie and Kyle are...fighting, for lack of a better term. And James and Katie are still pretty much spitting fire at each other...Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Feel free to let me know what you think of it :) I never get tired from hearing you guys, and it always brightens up my day.**_


	19. Chapter 19: Seven Minutes In?

_**I now present to you...Chapter Nineteen!**_

_**Disclaimer: This is painful. Like really painful. So painful I'm gritting my teeth...but here's the truth. I do not own Big Time Rush. I also don't own Avril Lavigne or her song "Girlfriend", or any of the games mentioned in here, or anything that is recognizable.**_

_**Guest(#1): Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying it :) And thank you for reviewing!**_

_**Guest(#2): I'm glad you like it so far! Thank you for your review :)**_

_**Guest(#3): Well...I could have Lauren cheat...but that might take some of the fun out of it ;) Thank you so for reviewing!**_

_**A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has read/followed/favorited/reviewed this story! I'm always so blown away by your responses, and, I'm not going to lie, I even get a little choked up sometimes, just because you guys are so AWESOME! So thank you!**_

_**Warnings: Not really sure it's necessary, but whatever. Language, something that could maybe be construed as cheating (depends on your perspective), kissing games, underage possession of alcohol, and Jett Stetson.**_

_**A/N: I'm going to say right now that this chapter turned out very different than how I had originally planned it. Basically, the beginning is more or less how I had pictured it, but then Carlos decided to have a New Years Eve party and Katie wanted stuff of her own and this whole chapter just went right off the track and landed in CrazyVille. And while it's not as bad as I originally thought it was (while I was writing it, none of it made any sense whatsoever to me), I'm still a little worried that this is totally crappy and just really, really stupid. So if it is, I'm sorry, and hopefully the next chapter will make more sense and will be a lot better.**_

_**Also, I don't support or condone girls fighting over a guy, because the circumstances surrounding it are usually pretty stupid and also, it's usually the guy's fault in the first place. And I'm not trying to make fun of the girls either (I'm a girl, so that'd be seriously hypocritical), but girls are notorious for being petty and bitchy and possessive and jealous, and this really plays into this chapter. And as for James' reactions (or sometimes lack of reactions), that's just the effect that Katie can have on him.**_

_**So, hopefully I got everything said that needed to be said, and if there's something in the chapter that's confusing, just let me know.**_

_**That being said, enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Seven Minutes In...?**

**James' POV**

There was complete silence after my last statement. And then someone coughed, and I let go of Katie's wrist. She took a step back, before sending me a final glare. "I'm going home," she announced to her mom.

"You have the van," Kendall reminded her. "And it's Mom's."

"So I'll have Dad come pick me up. I'm not staying here."

"Fine, whatever." He rolled his eyes.

She rolled her eyes as well and pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the keypad as she texted Mr. Knight. All the while, the moms were picking stuff up and heading into the kitchen, mumbling something about "peace and quiet".

I shook my head. That girl was just incredible. And not in a good way either. Somehow, she reminded me a tiny bit of Blair Waldorf from _Gossip Girl_. It kind of got me wondering which TV character that made me…

Deciding it really wasn't that important, I found my gaze straying back to Katie. She glanced at me and threw me a glare. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

If her mom had been listening, she probably would have reprimanded Katie. But the mothers had turned back to their original discussion about the hockey rink.

"Wow, someone had an extra serving of bitch flakes for breakfast this morning," I retorted.

"Oh, go duct tape your mouth shut or something."

"It'd be a lot more effective if I did it to you. The entire school would probably thank me for it."

"Always the good Samaritan. And then you wonder why I didn't want to go out with you."

"No matter. I found someone who does want to go out with me," I replied with a smirk.

"Shove it up your ass," she snapped. "Oh, and by the way, Jo, Cami, and Steph now know that Shane's gay."

Shane spun around. "You told them?!"

"It slipped out," she said unconcernedly. "Whatever. Kyle doesn't care if everyone knows or not. He told me I could tell the whole school if I want to."

"He wouldn't do that…"

"Oh, but he would. Guess he doesn't care who knows. And honestly, there's got to be something up if you _do_ care."

"There's nothing up," I snipped at her. "You know why he doesn't want the entire world knowing that he's gay, or have you forgotten that he was bullied so badly at our old school?"

"Well, it doesn't really have anything to do with me, now does it?" she replied coolly. "I don't have to protect him anymore."

"But you do have to protect your best friend," I pointed out. "And he's with Shane."

"Yeah, well, newsflash – my best friend isn't speaking to me at the moment. He's taking the hockey head's side. He likes you guys better, I guess." I saw a glimmer of hurt in her eyes, but she blinked and it was gone. "So whatever. I'm not protecting you and Kyle anymore," she informed Shane. "But don't worry, I'm sure big brother will. He always does."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Shane said in confusion, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't mean anything by it. It's just, it must be nice not having to do anything for yourself when you know your brother will take care of everything for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Kendall, when are you going to drive us home?"

"Once Dad gets here, I want to see him."

"Fine."

"What? You want to get away from the ice bitch?" Katie asked, tossing her hair back.

"As a matter of fact, that is what I want."

"Really? Because your eyes are telling me that you want to push me up against the wall and have your way with me."

"I didn't know my eyes knew how to lie…"

"They don't. We both know it's still me you want." She smirked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Katie. I don't like bitches."

"Really? Because you sure liked me plenty a week ago."

"I could say the same for you."

"I told you, I was doing you a favor."

"And I told _you_ that I would move on. And I did."

"Yippee for you. Good for you. Do I look like I give a damn?"

"You did last night."

"Well, guess what. I don't. I don't care who you kiss or sleep with. You could go screw a cactus for all I care."

"Really? Because I could say the same thing about you. And we both know you're lying."

"I'm not the one who's constantly putting on an act."

"What are you even talking about?" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You. You've lied to everyone here."

"About _what_?!" I spat.

"About the truth about Shane!"

"Fine!" Shane stepped in between us. "Fine! Here's the truth – I'm gay, and I'm with Kyle! Okay? Are you happy now? And James wasn't lying, no one ever asked him outright if I'm straight or gay. He just never mentioned it because of how badly I was bullied at our old school. He was trying to protect me. But that's never enough for you, is it? God, Katie. I told him not to let you hurt him, and he let his defenses down and you slithered in and now you can't just let him be happy."

"He's a hockey player. He doesn't deserve to be happy."

"Dad was a hockey player," Kendall pointed out. "So he doesn't deserve to be happy either?"

"Anyone who makes their loved ones worry about them doesn't deserve to be happy," she stated ferociously. "So, no. And I guess that means you don't either."

"That is some fucked up logic," Carlos informed Katie.

"Oh, what do you know?" Stephanie snapped, rounding on him. "All you care about is hockey! Hockey and corndogs!"

"I do not! And corndogs are amazing!" he cried.

"Eh. So-so."

"Take that back!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Make me!"

"Oh, I will – "

"Guys!" Kendall interceded. "We have to stop this, all we're doing is fighting amongst ourselves."

"There is no _amongst ourselves_. We're ice skaters and you guys are hockey heads, and we don't get along. Just accept that, and move on," Jo told him brashly. "And who the hell made you the peacekeeper in this, anyway? You may be the hockey captain, but you're not the boss of us."

"I never said I was," Kendall retorted hotly. "Excuse me for trying to keep some hint of peace between us all."

"Don't bother," she responded harshly. "It's like Katie's been saying for ages, ice skaters and hockey players are never going to get along. She and James couldn't make it work, you're practically a stalker, and you're all pretty much Neanderthals."

"The joke's on you!" Logan cried. "Anthropologists have discovered that Neanderthals were actually quite a bit smarter than what people give them credit for. They have a larger cranium and – "

"Oh, give it a rest," Katie snapped. "An insult's an insult. If you're so fucking smart, then you should know that."

"Lay off of him," I intervened. "If you girls weren't such damn ice queens, there wouldn't be a problem in the first place."

"Well, maybe if you guys weren't such hockey heads – "

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

"That your head is filled with hockey pucks!" she screamed, stamping her foot.

"Fuck you."

"You wish."

I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything else, the front door swung open and Mr. Knight stepped inside. He stared at us, hockey player facing off against ice skater, obviously very confused.

"I'm ready to go," Katie announced to him. "I'm more than ready to get away from these…_people_." She sneered the last word, her lip curling up in disdain.

"But…what's going on?" he asked. "I mean…where's your mom?"

At that moment, Mrs. Knight walked back out into the living room. She paused at the sight of her ex husband. "Oh. I thought I heard your voice. What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Katie…" he said slowly. "But…I mean…what's all the fighting about?"

"Well, if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that it's about the ice rink at the school – the second, smaller one. They're taking it out to save on costs, and the ice skaters are either going to have to share the other rink with the hockey players, or they'll have to skate at the town's ice rink, which may or may not be reopening."

Mr. Knight frowned. "Wow…taking out the second rink…that's a huge step. And that's really going to complicate things."

"Believe me, I know. And it's going to be a fight between who deserves the school rink more."

"I can see…"

"I mean, in all honesty, I think it should be the ice skaters, because they actually have to pay for everything," Mrs. Knight explained. "Hockey isn't even a super normal sport in this area."

"Bullshit," Mr. Knight crossed his arms. "It should be the hockey players, since hockey is the school sport."

"But they're not renting out the rink."

"But they're a school sponsored sport, whereas ice skating isn't. The ice skaters are just using the rink in place of another community one. And the community one might get opened again. Therefore…"

"Therefore…what? Ice skaters shouldn't get the same rights as the hockey players?"

"Shouldn't hockey players get the same rights as the ice skaters?" Mr. Knight retorted. "The hockey players shouldn't be kicked out of their own rink."

"Hockey is a dangerous sport! If the team had to dissolve because of this, it wouldn't be a bad thing, it'd probably end up saving a lot of people a lot of worry!"

"I see. The same goes for ice skating! Our daughter has been hurt numerous times on the ice!"

"Our son has gotten a concussion from hockey!"

"Our daughter broke her ankle because of ice skating!"

"I'm not discussing this anymore," Mrs. Knight snapped. "Get out of my house."

"I've changed my mind," Katie announced. "Mom, can I stay here?"

"And Dad, can I go with you?" Kendall asked.

I glanced over at Shane. "Maybe I should call Mom for a ride…"

"Sounds like a good idea. The only reason we stopped by here was because Kendall spotted all the cars in his driveway."

I nodded and pulled my phone out of my jeans pocket. Definitely time to make an escape.

The rest of Christmas break went by quickly. I hung out with the guys, Shane, Kyle, and Lauren. Kendall had moved in with his dad, while Katie was now living with their mom. From what Kendall had told me, they were split up between the ice skaters and the hockey players, Katie and Mrs. Knight on one side, and Kendall and Mr. Knight on the other. Talk about confusing.

On Christmas Eve, my mom, Shane, and I drove down to a nearby lake. My grandparents lived in a house on the lake, and they had invited us down to their place.

On Christmas, Mom, Shane, and I gathered around the tree, opening up presents and drinking hot chocolate, while eating waffles topped with cherries and whipped cream. It wasn't a storybook Christmas, but it was a nice and quiet one, very peaceful. Exactly what we needed.

On New Year's Eve, Carlos threw a party for the hockey team and our dates. Lauren had agreed readily to attend it with me, even though she didn't know the guys or the girls they might be bringing very well.

Come to think of it, I didn't know the girls who they might be bringing very well. I knew Logan had gotten Camille to agree to go with him, but I didn't know about Kendall or Carlos, or about Dak. Shane had chosen to go dateless, since the only person he wanted to bring as his date was Kyle, and the subject of his sexuality hadn't been broached by any of us since that day at the Knights' house.

However, the evening before the party, Carlos gave Shane a call. We were in the living room, flipping through TV channels, when Shane's phone rang. He pulled it out of his jeans pocket, frowned slightly, and put it up to his ear. "Hello?"

There was a pause, and then he pressed the button to put it on speakerphone.

"…I mean," Carlos was saying, "it's not really a big deal if you're gay or bi or whatever. And it's going to be a pretty small gathering. James, Logan, and Kendall are the only ones with dates, and Kendall's date is just a friend."

"What does that have to do with me bringing Kyle?" Shane asked.

"Nothing really. I was just saying, there won't be a ton of people there, it's just going to be people you know, who won't judge. We don't have a problem with you dating Kyle, and we'd really like it if you could just…be yourselves around us. Act like you would around James and Katie. We want you to be comfortable, we don't want you to feel like you have to pretend to be something you're not. We're your friends and your teammates, Shane, and we're here for you, no matter what."

Shane paused, biting his lip. "I guess I could give Kyle a call…"

"Awesome! Let me know what he says. Talk to you later!" And with that, Carlos hung up.

"Why'd you put it on speakerphone?" I asked Shane as he began dialing Kyle's number.

"I just thought it might be something you'd be interested to hear."

I nodded slowly. "We have good friends, don't we?"

"We really do."

At a quarter to eight the next evening, Kyle picked Shane up at our house, and I drove to Lauren's place. I nervously parked at the curb and walked up the driveway to her front door. I rang the bell, and a moment later, she swung the door open, strawberry blonde hair falling everywhere. She beamed at me. "Hi, James!"

"Hey," I smiled back at her. "Ready to go?"

"Yep." She hitched her purse over her shoulder, called bye to her parents, and hurried outside.

I glanced at her. She was in a basic dress, the top cut low enough for someone to ogle her cleavage. On her feet were stiletto heels, and I had a feeling that walking in stilts would be more comfortable.

When she saw me glancing at her shoes, she gave me a sheepish smile. "My mom's kind of a shoe connoisseur, so when she heard I was going to a New Year's Eve party, she went out and bought me these."

"Ah, gotcha," I nodded. "Well, you look really pretty."

"Thanks," she smiled at me, pulling her sweater tighter around her upper body. "You clean up really nice as well. Of course, you always look amazing, so that doesn't surprise me."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. And thanks for inviting me to the party."

"Actually, I think I should be thanking you," I told her as I opened the front passenger door for her.

She gave me a curious look. "How so?"

I closed the door and walked around, getting into the driver's seat. "For agreeing to go to a party where you'll only really know one person."

"Oh. That's not a problem. I've had all the guys in a couple of my classes, and they're all sweethearts. The only thing I'm worried about is that they'll compare me to Katie."

We buckled up and I started the car back up. "Why?"

"Because she's Kendall's sister. And you said Logan's date would be Camille Roberts. She's one of Katie's best friends."

"Katie and I barely lasted more than a weekend. Believe me, you have nothing to worry about." And to prove it, I leaned over and kissed her. She kissed me back, hands coming up to my cup my jaw. I could smell fresh nail polish, but the taste of her bubblegum flavored lip gloss more than made up for it.

After a few seconds, I pulled back and she smiled at me again. "You've made your point."

"Good," I grinned. "So, I'm going to be kissing you at midnight."

She shot me a teasing look. "Only if I don't kiss you first."

"Deal." I put the car in drive, and off we went. Five minutes later, we pulled up in front of the Garcia's house, and I parked behind Kendall's car. Lauren and I climbed out and my hand found hers as I led her up to the front door. I pushed the door open and we stepped inside.

The Garcia house was decorated with a mixture of leftover Christmas decorations, and New Years Eve banners and streamers. A top forty radio station was playing in the background, and I could see Kendall and his 'date', Lucy Stone, competing against each other at _Guitar Hero_. Carlos and Dak were sitting on the couch, chatting over bottles of _IZZE_ sparkling juice. Logan, Camille, Shane, and Kyle were hanging out by a long table laden with chips and candy. I could see Shane's and Kyle's arms around each other, and I smiled a little. They really were pretty adorable together.

Lauren blinked in their direction. "Your brother's gay?" she asked me, sounding surprised.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Wow, you'd never know by looking at him," she shrugged.

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"Nope. My favorite cousin's a lesbian. I don't see anything wrong with it."

I relaxed. I'll admit, for a split second, I had been worried that she might be a homophobic. "Oh, okay."

"Whoo hoo! In your face!" Kendall suddenly cheered, grinning as he did a victory dance. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Okay, seriously? See, this is what I get for going to a junior's party."

I shook my head, laughing. Lucy was a senior who lived in Kendall's neighborhood…or now Katie's neighborhood…wow, that was confusing…anyway, from what Kendall had told me, they had bonded over a mutual love of rock music and the electric guitar when he and his mom had first moved into the neighborhood after his and Katie's parents' divorce.

"Are you saying I'm immature?" Kendall challenged her.

She smirked at him. "Hey, if the shoe fits…I'm going to go get a drink." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, long and black with red streaks, and headed over to the cooler under the table.

I spent the next fifteen minutes bringing Lauren around the room, reintroducing her to everyone, and generally making sure that she felt comfortable. At last, we settled onto one of the other couches with our own _IZZE_ drinks, Logan and Camille joining us a couple of minutes later. They asked Lauren questions about soccer and baseball, and she in turn showed interest in hockey and ice skating.

We spent the next hour and a half talking, taking turns at _Guitar Hero_, and basically just goofing off.

Ten-o-clock found me back on the couch with Lauren perched in my lap, listening to a hockey practice story Shane was telling her. Kyle and I were exchanging anecdotes about our different injuries that had come from the ice and ice skates.

Kyle was just beginning to tell me how he had gotten a scar on his hip when the front door suddenly swung open, and in trooped none other than Katie, Jo, Stephanie, and…Jett Stetson.

What the fuck?

* * *

**Katie's POV**

I really don't know what possessed me to come up with the idea to crash Carlos' New Year's Eve party, I really don't. All I know is that on New Year's Eve, I was bored out of my mind, and I knew Camille was going with Logan to the party. And that's when I came up with the brilliant plan to call Steph and Jo up, and suggest that we head over to the Garcias'. Unfortunately for us, Jo's mom was talking to Jett's about the problem with the ice rinks, and Jo got suckered into asking Jett along.

Which is how all four of us ended up in my car, with me growling under my breath and Jett holding a large cooler between his feet. All he had said when I had demanded to know what it was, was that it was "drinks". I decided right then and there that I really didn't want to know. I had been planning on beginning bring-the-slutty-bitch-who-James-now-called-a-girl friend down while reminding James how physically attracted to me he was, but I wasn't sure if I could pull it off with Jett there. Knowing him, he'd get in the middle of everything and completely screw everything up.

I decided I'd try it out anyway.

I parked in front of Carlos' and we all clambered out, Jett lugging the cooler with him. I opened the front door and we ambled in. My gaze immediately narrowed in on James on the couch, with Lauren curled up in his lap. God, could her dress get any lower? At least I didn't look like I belonged on a street corner. I'd gone with a dusty purple dress, a denim jacket, and purple Converse sneakers – you know, something that didn't show off every single centimeter of my cleavage.

"Put some clothes on," I snapped at her. "You look like a freaking hooker."

She and James both gaped at me, clearly stunned into speechlessness. Good. I could use this to my advantage.

I sauntered over to them and shoved Lauren out of James' lap, and into Shane's, before crawling into James'. "Hey, Jamie-Bear," I purred. "Miss me?"

"What the fuck…?"

I pouted at him. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Carlos cried, looking around the room at us. "You weren't invited!"

"Duh, we're crashing the party," Stephanie said to him. "Loosen up. We figured the party would be really boring, so we came to liven it up."

"Yeah, I even bought a shitload of beer," Jett added.

We all turned to gawk at him. Well, that would explain the cooler.

"You brought beer?" I demanded. "Dude! You brought beer into _my car_?! If I had gotten pulled over, I could've been arrested for it! You immature fucker!"

"I love it when you talk dirty to me."

"Gross! And don't hit on me, can't you see I'm in James' lap?"

"Yeah, and get out of his lap," Lauren spoke up, shoving me back so that I tumbled onto the cushion beside James. "You had your chance and you blew it."

"Catfight!" Jett whooped.

We both turned to glare at him, before focusing our attention on each other.

"I didn't think he'd go get with some slutty bitch," I snarled.

"_I'm_ a slut? I'm not the one who had a friends with benefits relationship with him."

"Your dress's neckline is deeper than the Grand Canyon!"

"Jealous?"

"Of?"

"Of the fact that I have a chest and you don't."

I smirked. "At least I didn't have to pay for mine."

"Oooh!" Stephanie and Jo intoned together.

"Believe me, sweetie, mine's all natural," Lauren replied coolly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, keep dreaming."

"Don't believe me. I don't really care." She wiggled back into James' lap and looped her arms around his neck, throwing me a smug look. James wound his arm around her waist and I clenched my teeth.

Fine. If she wanted to be like that, then I say bring it on. I wasn't going down, not now, not ever.

I got to my feet and shed my jacket, before looking at the others. "You guys should really play a game or something."

"And what game would you suggest we play?" Carlos asked coldly.

"Spin the bottle?"

"What is this, seventh grade?" Lauren snorted. "Besides, some of us are actually dating people."

James nodded in agreement. "We shouldn't risk it."

"Why?" I flashed my teeth in a grin at him. "Afraid the bottle might land on me."

"I've already kissed you, so that's not actually a problem. But I don't want to kiss someone who I'm not with."

Uggrrhh…goody-two-shoes. It was too bad he made it look so hot.

"Fine. _Truth or Dare_?"

"No."

"_I've Never_?"

"You nuts?"

"_Would You Rather_?!"

He smirked. "We'll talk about it."

"Or, you know, you could leave," Carlos suggested, arms crossed.

"Don't you like us?" Stephanie asked him, grinning widely.

"Considering every time we see you girls, you get even more bitchier…yeah, I really want you out of my house."

"How about me?" Jett asked, draping himself on the couch beside Shane and Kyle, both of whom gave him half terrified, half disgusted looks.

"You've tried to get us kicked out of school at least twice, so not in the least," Carlos answered.

"Boo."

James rolled his eyes. "Anyway, since when are you all over me?" he demanded of me. "I thought you didn't like hockey heads."

"I don't."

"Yet, you just plopped down in my lap after pushing my girlfriend out of the way. Aren't you supposed to hate me or something?"

"Oh, I do! But you're also really hot. Also you're super sexy when you cuss."

"And that's what I get for trying to reason with you."

"You make it sound like I'm unreasonable."

"You kind of are. Whatever. Just choose a fucking game."

I smirked. "Well, you and I could go fuck, and let the others play a game."

"I will bitch slap you," Lauren informed me, raising her hand threateningly.

"Bring it."

"Stop!" James yelled. "Just stop! Katie, I'm with Lauren. Lauren, Katie is not competition. Just stop."

"Party pooper," I whined. "I remember you being a lot more fun when we were in the back of your car."

Lauren smirked at me. "You know, I should thank you."

"For?"

"If you hadn't been such a bitch, James and I wouldn't have ended up together. I should really bake you a basket of muffins."

"At least when I get him back, he'll know the difference between sluttiness and hotness, and he'll know that our sexual chemistry is real."

"You're lucky that he's actually talking to you."

I grinned. "He just can't help himself when it comes to me." I ran my hand up and down his thigh dangerously slow.

James grabbed my hand and set it in my own lap. "Hands to yourself, Katie."

"I say we just play Spin the Bottle!" Jett hollered. "Get everything out into the open."

"Whatever," Carlos shook his head. He grabbed an empty _IZZE_ bottle and set it in the middle of the floor. We all gathered around it. "Who's going first?"

"I will," Jett grinned.

"Is there something we can do besides kissing the person? Like, say, slapping him?" Camille asked.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Carlos nodded.

"Good, because I'm not kissing Jett."

"Okay, you know what?" James got to his feet. "This is fucking stupid. I'm not playing. I have a girlfriend. I'm done."

Oh no, you're not…Not even close…

"Well, how about Seven Minutes in Heaven?" Jo suggested. "I heard of this one version where you ask someone a question, and if they don't answer, they go into the closet with you. And since you're in a closet, you don't actually have to kiss. So, no problems there."

I nodded.

"What is with all the kissing games?" James demanded.

"Come on, just let loose for once," I pleaded, looking up at him hopefully. "Some of us are single here, so…"

"Fine. But this is really, really stupid."

I grinned triumphantly. Knew I could get him to agree. He and Lauren definitely weren't going to last very long with me around.

Carlos and Logan worked on clearing out the hall closet, and Carlos made us all ditch our phones and watches so that we couldn't keep track of the time when we were in said closet.

"So, who's going first?" Carlos demanded.

James glanced at Lauren. "You cool with this?"

"If I wasn't, I would have said something by now," she assured him. "It's just a game, it doesn't actually mean anything."

"And if someone ends up kissing you or James?" I asked.

"We get a free pass for tonight. It's nothing more than a game. Besides, like Jo said, we'll be in a closet. No one's going to know if anything does or doesn't happen."

"You guys should listen to this girl," Dak spoke up. "She's smart. Anyway, I'll start."

"Go for it," Carlos said, leaning against the wall.

"Lauren…Is that your real name?"

She stared at him. "Are you fucking kidding me?" she demanded, cracking up. "Oh my gosh…" Shaking her head, she grabbed his hand and hauled him into the closet, kicking the door closed behind them.

Carlos immediately set the stopwatch he had gotten out of a drawer in the kitchen.

"Well. That was surprising," James said after a moment. "I didn't expect that."

"Does it bother you?" I asked him sweetly. "Her being in the closet with your teammate."

"No, because chances are they aren't doing anything."

"And we're not going to ask about it either," Carlos spoke up. "What happens in that closet stays in that closet."

"Sounds like a plan," James nodded.

At that moment, I heard the beginning of Avril Lavigne's song _Girlfriend_ come on the radio, and I grinned, dashing over to it and turning the volume up.

"So, where're your parents tonight?" Camille asked Carlos.

"At a family friend's New Year's Eve party. They trust me enough to let me have one of my own…Though I'm wondering if maybe they overestimated me."

"It's not your fault," Kyle said to him. "You didn't ask for the party to be crashed."

I ignored them and instead began singing along with the song, dancing towards James:

"'_You're so fine__  
__I want you mine__  
__You're so delicious__  
__I think about you all the time__  
__You're so addictive__  
__Don't you know what I can do__  
__To make you feel all right?__Don't pretend__  
__I think you know__  
__I'm damn precious__  
__And, hell yeah__  
__I'm the motherfuckin' princess__  
__I can tell you like me too__  
__And you know I'm right__She's like so, whatever__  
__You could do so much better__  
__I think we should get together now__  
__(And that's what everyone's talkin' about)_

_Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I don't like your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__  
__I think you need a new one__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I could be your girlfriend__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I know that you like me__  
__No way, no way__  
__No, it's not a secret__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I want to be your girlfriend._

_I can see the way__  
__I see the way you look at me__  
__And even when you look away__  
__I know you think of me__  
__I know you talk about me all the time__  
Again__and again.'"_

I moved closer to him and stood on my tip toes so that my lips were brushing against his ear.

_"'So come over here__  
__And tell me what I wanna hear__  
__Better yet, make your girlfriend disappear__  
__I don't wanna hear you say her name ever again (and again and again).'"_

He gently pushed me away and I giggled, stepping back._"'Cause she's like so, whatever__  
__You could do so much better__  
__I think we should get together now__  
__(And that's what everyone's talkin' about)_

_Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I don't like your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__  
__I think you need a new one__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I could be your girlfriend__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I know that you like me__  
__No way, no way__  
__No, it's not a secret__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I want to be your girlfriend.'"_

I pushed him down into a chair and straddled him before he had the chance to react and smirked as I continued to sing, moving my hips with the rhythm.

"'_(Oh)__  
__In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger__  
__Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better__  
__There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?__  
__She's so stupid__  
__What the hell were you thinkin'?_

_In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger__  
__Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better__  
__There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?__  
__She's so stupid__  
__What the hell were you thinkin'?_

_Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I don't like your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__I think you need a new one__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I could be your girlfriend__No way, no way__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I know that you like me__No way, no way__  
__No, it's not a secret__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__I want to be your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__I don't like your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__  
__I think you need a new one__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I could be your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I know that you like me__No way, no way__  
__No, it's not a secret__  
__Hey, hey__  
__You, you__  
__I want to be your girlfriend__  
__No way, no way__  
__Hey, hey_!'"

I grinned and climbed off of him, before smirking at the look of shock on my face. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, proves my point."

"And what is your point?" Shane demanded.

"That even though he's dating little Miss Whatever, he still wants me."

"Why are you doing this?" Kyle asked me. "I thought you were done with James. You're acting like you actually have feelings for him."

"Well, you're wrong. I don't."

"Right…sure…that's why you're doing all this, that's why you've been all over him. Because you don't have feelings for him. What a load of bullshit."

At that moment, the timer went off, and Carlos knocked on the closet door. "You two can come out now, time's up!"

Lauren and Dak emerged from the closet. I eyed them, trying to see if I could figure out if they had done anything at all in there, but their faces were carefully blank.

Well, damn.

I opened my mouth, about to volunteer to go next, but before I could get the words out, Shane stepped over to me. "Katie, are you going to get your ass into the closet with me or not?"

Okay, then…I scurried into the closet and he followed me, slamming the door behind us.

"What the hell?" I hissed at him. "Why are we in here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, duh."

"About?"

"My brother."

"This ought to be fun."

"Shut the sarcasm away for the next seven minutes. Do you have feelings for him or not? And an honest answer would be nice."

"It may be nice, but that doesn't mean you're going to get one," I retorted, crossing my arms.

"Just tell me, Katie. Yes or no."

"How about _maybe_?"

Shane groaned. "You're going after James when he's taken. That reeks of someone who has feelings for someone else."

"It does not! Lauren's a bitch!"

"She's not a bitch."

"She threatened to bitch slap me!"

"Because you were all over her boyfriend. If you were all over Kyle, I'd probably consider it too."

"Kyle's gay. And I'm not into him."

"That's beside the point."

"Whatever. Look, how I feel, or do not feel about James isn't any of your business."

"It's my business when he's my brother."

"Well, can you keep your business out of my business?"

"How about you keep your business out of James' and Lauren's business?"

"How about you stop making stupid suggestions and leave me alone?"

Shane let out a huffy breath. "Why are you so fucking stubborn?!"

"I was born with it. What's your excuse?"

"I'm a Diamond."

"Right…"

"So, do you like James?"

"Would I make out with him repeatedly if I wouldn't?" I retorted.

"Beats the hell out of me. I warned him not to let you hurt him, you know. After you two kissed for the first time. You're dangerous, and you can hurt him so easily. So think about that before you do something else."

Before I could respond, there was a tap on the door and Carlos' voice echoed through the wood, "Your time's up."

Shane opened the door and slipped out. I paused for a long moment, before stepping out after him.

The game continued on, until I finally saw an opening and seized it. "James, do you still want me sexually or not?"

His face blanched, and then he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the closet.

Aha! Success!

"_What_?" he snarled at me once the door was shut securely behind us.

"What?" I replied. "You're the one who practically forced me into the closet. I knew you wanted to kiss me again, I just didn't realize how badly."

"You're unbelievable, you know that? You crash the party, insult my girlfriend repeatedly, and then manipulate me. Do you ever stop, or is it just your dream job to make everyone's life a living hell?"

"Well. If you're going to be like that, I guess I'll go out there and tell Lauren all about how I could get you to moan for me. I'll make sure she knows every single thing we ever did. And I'll be sure to add in the part where you'd dream about me, because we both know you did."

"You breathe anything of the sort to her, and I don't care what I have to do, I'll make sure your entire reputation goes down the drain."

"You really think blackmail's going to work on me?" I demanded, pressing myself up against him.

"It has before," he replied, voice getting lower and deeper. "So I don't know why it wouldn't work now."

"Screw you, Diamond."

"Right back at you, Knight." And then our lips were on each other's and he was lifting me up, my legs winding around his waist and he was backing me into the wall and oh my gosh this was the most perfect thing ever how could I ever let this go, how?! I must've been insane to ever let Sarah make that decision for me.

I whimpered as he deepened the kiss, forcing his tongue into my mouth, and my hands came up to entwine in his hair, tugging slightly. He groaned and repositioned his hands slightly so that he had a better grip on me.

I bit down on his bottom lip, and he returned the favor, earning a whine from me.

And then Carlos was knocking on the door, and James and I were breaking apart, panting hard.

"Holy fuck," he whispered. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"I don't mind."

"I do! I have a girlfriend – "

"Who probably made out with Dak not even an hour ago," I pointed out.

"Not the point. We're _us_, and we don't do things just for the hell of it."

"She said herself that it's just a game. Now, _move_, so that we can get back out there."

Shaking his head, he headed back out, with me following close behind.

James immediately looked at Lauren. "Do you want to get out of here?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"See you guys later," he called to the rest of us, before taking her hand, and leading her out the door. A lump began to grow in my throat, and my eyes filled with tears. It didn't matter what had just happened in the closet, and it never would. The fact was, he had just chosen Lauren over me, and he always would, because she was everything I wasn't. Because he actually liked her. Because she was nice to him and didn't manipulate him. Because she wasn't me.

"It's almost midnight!" Shane cried, and I glanced at the living room clock. Sure enough, it was one minute to twelve. And it hit me at that moment that James was going to be kissing Lauren at midnight, as New Years rushed in, and there was nothing that I could do about it, nothing whatsoever.

And that's why, when the clock chimed midnight, I grabbed Jett and kissed him hard.

* * *

_***Hides in closet* Please don't kill me! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease don't kill me! There's a reason for the Katie/Jett kiss (*gag*), I promise! Also, killing the writer would put a hold on the story. So I'm really hoping you guys decide to just wait a little bit before, you know, going after me with torches and pitchforks...**_

_**I would ask for reviews, but I'm a little bit scared...If you have nice, happy things to say, go right ahead! If you don't...well, go ahead and cuss me out, because after this chapter, I probably deserve it. But once again, there's a reason for what happened in here (even if it wasn't actually planned)!**_


	20. Chapter 20: New Years' Eve

_**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Big Time Rush. And yes, I'm very sad about that.**_

_**Guest: You didn't like where I ended the last chapter? *Pouts* Thank you for your review! :)**_

_**THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has taken the time to read, or favorite, or follow, or read this story, or any of my stories. I can't even begin to tell you guys how much your support and enthusiasm means to me :) So, an even bigger THANK YOU than normal!**_

_**Okay, so I probably shouldn't be updating when I haven't caught up on replying to reviews. But I'm pretty sure I did catch up on my reviews for this story, so yeah...I'm posting it. Anyway, for those of you who don't know, the reason why I've been MIA (as in, none of my multi chapter stories have been updated) for the past couple of weeks is because my laptop crashed. That's also why I got so behind on review replies, though I'm pretty caught up on them with this story and "Take the Heat". I think it's just "Touch the Flame" I need to work my way through.**_

_**So, a lot of you really didn't like where I ended the last chapter. What I'm going to say is that there is a reason for what happened in the last chapter (though with my luck, the story will get changed and then there'll be no reason at all), so yeah. And hopefully this chapter will make up for it a little :)**_

_**Warnings: Language, underage drinking, mentions of minor sexual assault (if there's such a thing), and something that could be considered cheating.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: New Years' Eve**

**Katie's POV**

The second I realized that I was kissing Jett, I threw up in my mouth a little. Or maybe a lot. Or maybe just in my mind. Either way, I was pretty grossed out.

I was seriously hoping that this wasn't an omen for how the rest of the new year was going to go.

I pulled back, sure that a look of horror was crossing my face. "Oh my God…"

Jett stared at me, before smirking. "I knew you wanted me."

"Ew…ew…ew…ew…ew…ew…I think I'm going to vomit…"

"Why? I bet I was the best you've ever had."

"No, you weren't. The best I've ever had walked out the door with his girlfriend." I sank down on the ground, completely lost. "Where's the beer?"

He gleefully got me one, and I popped the tab on it, taking a long sip of it. "Blech, that stuff takes awful."

"So, wanna talk about James Diamond?" Jett asked, sitting down beside me.

"No thank you."

"Bummer. I bet you'd have some good, juicy stories about him."

"Not a one."

"Really?" he raised his own can of beer to his lips. "Because I've been hearing stuff. It true his brother's a queer?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask James?" I suggested.

"Shane and Kyle were here together, and between you and me, it's pretty obvious Kyle isn't as straight and narrow as he likes everyone to believe."

"They're friends," I said simply. "If they're anything else, than it's news to me. Now stop being a nosy prick, you've already worn out your welcome with Carlos."

"Diamond's right, you really are a bitch," Jett snorted.

"What can I say? It's what I do best. I'm a world class bitch without even trying. It's why James wants nothing to do with me." I took another sip of beer. "I mean, all this sexual tension and I'm still not what he wants. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Jett said. "I mean, your chest is pretty much non existent, but if you're easy enough, then that won't even matter."

I stared at him. "Yeah, I just remembered why I hate you." And with that, I dumped the rest of my beer over his head, got to my feet, and made my way into the kitchen.

"What the fuck was that?!" Carlos cried, dashing after me. "I'm pretty sure beer stains!"

"Make Jett clean it. He's an ass."

"No shit. Pretty much the entire town could have told you that, Katie. I didn't want him here in the first place! Come to think of it, I didn't want any of you here!"

I shook my head and stood on my tip toes, reaching into the cabinet over the sink and pulling down a glass. I got the pitcher of water out of the fridge and poured it into the glass, before putting it back. "Sorry. My bad."

"Right…" He shook his head. "I want all of you out of here."

"And I want a pony. Did I ride here tonight on a pony? No, I did not."

"You also want James. And you wanted to be the one to leave here with him."

"My point remains, we can't get everything we want. I don't get him, you know? He didn't care that I was a bitch before."

Carlos pursed his lips. "You two were never…friendly…when you were a bitch to him. It's like your entire personality changed after the Halloween dance, and suddenly you two were friends. Everyone thought you two were going to end up together. And now…You rejected him, ditched him, broke up with him, whatever term you want to use here. It's not just that you're a bitch, it's that you pushed him away, only to expect him to wait for you."

"I didn't expect him to wait for me…I just…didn't think he'd end up with Lauren so quickly. I didn't think he'd find anyone that fast. It was pure dumb luck for him that he happened to run into her at the hotel, and complete bad luck for me."

"That's the risk you took when you told him you didn't want him. Okay? You brought this on yourself, and anyone will tell you the same thing. You have _got_ to stop treating people like shit."

"I don't treat people like shit. I treat them how I think they deserve to be treated."

"I stand corrected." He shook his head. "Whatever. You're hopeless."

I bit my lip. He was right. I really was hopeless. I was never going to get it right. I almost had, but then I had completely fucked it all up. And I probably wasn't going to get a second chance. But what if I could get one? What if I could convince James to give me one more? Granted, first I had to get rid of Lauren…And that wasn't going to be easy. James was clearly head over heels for her, but the fact was, they had never once used the closet to make out. Which told me that they clearly were more than capable of keeping their hands off of each other. Completely the opposite of James and me. So…not exactly sexually compatible…I could work with that. I could totally work with that.

Lauren, darling, you're going down.

James, baby, I'm coming for you.

And that was that. That was my final verdict.

A little while later, I rounded up the Jo, Camille, Stephanie, and - gag - Jett. Jett smirked knowingly at me, and proceeded to make some very lewd, suggestive comments. I whacked him around the back of the head but otherwise ignored him as we walked out to my car. Stephanie shoved him roughly into the backseat of my car as I got into the driver's seat, Jo climbing in next to me. Camille and Stephanie promptly had an argument about who was going to be forced to sit beside Jett.

"Ladies, ladies, ladies," Jett spoke up. "I could just sit in the middle. There's enough Jett Stetson for all of you." He whipped mouth spray out from his back pocket and blasted some into his mouth, earning a simultaneous gagging noise from all of us.

"You moron," Stephanie snapped. "We don't want to sit next to you. You're a disgusting pig and we want nothing to do with you. And it should be Jo who has to sit next to you, since she's the one who saddled us with you."

"Don't blame me!" Jo cried. "Blame my mom! It's her fault, all her fault!"

"Rock, paper, scissors," Camille suggested to Stephanie.

"Two out of three?"

"Let's do it."

Two games later, Stephanie found herself buckling up the middle seatbelt while slapping Jett's hand away from her thigh. "I will twist your balls off," she informed him.

He immediately snatched his hand away.

I groaned as Camille got in, buckling up as well. I got the car started and pulled away, thinking wearily that this night had been waaay too long.

Perhaps I thought too soon.

"You know," Jett spoke up, a little too loudly for any of our liking, "the rumors about the Stetson Snake is true. Way true."

"So it's the size of a baby worm?" Steph quipped, rubbing her forehead. "I have a headache..."

"Don't we all?" I said as I reached over to flip on the radio.

"You're not going to listen to that, are you?" Jett asked me as an old Evanescence song came on.

"Yes, I am, because it's my car, my radio, and I can listen to whatever the hell I want."

"But it's crap. All angsty and deep and shit. You should listen to _good _music."

I gritted my teeth. "And what, pray tell, would you suggest I listen to?"

"Some Kanye West, maybe Lil Wayne. They're true rappers and know what they're talking about."

"I will kick you out of my car."

"Well, la-di-da. Someone's awfully feisty." He leaned forward and made to brush my hair off of my shoulder. Camille slapped his hand away.

"Leave her alone."

Jett held his hands up. "My bad."

"You're an asshole," Jo informed him. "I can't wait to be rid of you."

She was the luckiest. We pulled up in front of her house a couple minutes later, and she scurried out of my car with barely a "bye! See you at school on Monday!". Camille's house was next, and finally Stephanie's. I dropped them off, before clenching my teeth. The ride to Jett's house was not going to be pretty.

I navigated the roads as carefully as I could, doing my very best to stay alert. That was proving harder and harder as I realized, with a glance in my rearview mirror, that Jett was drinking his damn beer in the backseat of _my _car.

I swerved to the side of the road, put the car in park, and spun around in my seat. "Get the fuck out of my car."

He leered at me. "Now, really, baby, do you actually want to be like that? We could party, you know."

"Jett, you're drunk, you're an ass, and I'm considering strangling you with your worm sized dick. Now get. Out. Of. My. Car."

"No."

Excusez-moi?

My eyebrows shot up. "Did you just tell me _no_?"

"That's right. I'm not moving. I'm comfy here. The only place I want any part of me to be moving is my hand under your dress."

"You're disgusting." I reached into my purse, fumbling for my phone. My gut was twisting uncomfortably, and flashes of the many conversations I had had with my parents and brother about date raping were tearing through my head, forcing quick, sharp gasps out of my mouth.

"What're you doing?" Jett demanded.

"None of your business." James...I had to call James...he had told me that if I had ever needed any help...well, I sure as hell needed help now.

I managed to dial his number and put the phone up to my ear.

"You calling to make excuses to your mommy as to why you're not coming home?" Jett grinned, unbuckling his seatbelt and trying to crawl over the seat. I placed my arm on the front passenger seat, blocking him for the moment, as James' phone rang. And rang. And rang.

Come on, James...please...please pick up...

* * *

**James' POV**

I kissed Lauren at midnight.

And it wasn't at all what I had hoped. The truth was, it was too little, too soon, after kissing Katie. Lauren didn't have the same fire. Didn't use the same lip gloss. Didn't have the same taste. Didn't cling to me, yanking on my hair. Didn't respond to me at all the way Katie had.

And as much as I hated to admit it, it was a major disappointment.

But I also knew that Katie wasn't good for me, that she wasn't right. As much physical and sexual chemistry that we had, it wasn't enough. She was still a bitch, and always would be. And I couldn't change her, and the honest truth was that I wasn't sure I would want to. In some ways, she was everything I could ever want, but in other ways, she was everything that I could never be. And I was fairly sure that she felt the same way about me. That hadn't made stepping away from her and walking out of the closet any easier. It had been sheer torture leaving with Lauren when every single piece of me, when every little pore, was screaming to turn around, to go back, to hold onto Katie and never let her go, to ruin her for any other guy she might happen to meet.

And it was terrifying how tempting it was.

Especially since we were both virgins and ruining her for any other guy would be pretty much impossible with my lack of experience and her hymen.

I decided I really didn't want to think about it. Like, at all.

"Are you okay?" Lauren asked as I pulled up in front of her house. "You've been quiet..."

I gave her a quick smile. "I'm fine, just got a lot on my mind."

"Like Katie?"

"W-what?"

"I mean, she showed up at the party and was all over you. Wasn't easy for me to see it...Was it hard for you to fight her off?"

Yes. "No," I lied straight through my teeth, and inwardly cringing. I hated lying, but what was I supposed to say? _Believe me, you have no idea the reactions she can get from me. In fact, we made out in the closet, and if Carlos hadn't interrupted us, we probably would have fucked_. Yeah, that would go over just fucking-riffic. "Not hard at all. She's not what I want, Lauren."

"Are you sure?" She bit her lip, looking over at me, a vulnerable expression on her face, and my heart broke slightly, my stomach clenching.

"I'm positive."

"What happened in the closet? You both looked a little...um..."

"We whisper yelled at each other." Close enough. That _had_ happened in the closet. So, see? I can talk to her about Katie without lying like nobody's business.

"And nothing else happened?"

You mean besides attacking each other and just completely sending the sexual tension skyrocketing? "Nothing at all."

"Okay." She relaxed, before leaning over and pecking my lips. "Thanks again for inviting me. Tonight was fun...for the most part." She gave me a slightly bitchy sneer, which I knew was directed at Katie, but I had to keep myself from frowning and defending Katie. It was funny. I was used to Katie's bitchiness, and I had long since accepted it. In fact, at times I could almost find it hot. But when it was Lauren...it didn't sit well with me at all.

She got out of my car and I forced myself to remember that girls were all bitches, at one point or another in their lives. It was how they survived, how they got their revenge, how they got justice, how they got what they believed was rightfully theirs. And of course Lauren would be a bitch about Katie. I mean, who wouldn't? If I had been in her place, I would have been doing some serious bitch slapping.

Her expression still seriously aggravated me, to say the least.

I put the car in gear and drove home, dragging myself up to my room and collapsing on my bed, not even bothering to change clothes.

I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, my phone was going off.

I groaned, mentally cussing out whoever had called and woken me out of my peaceful dream. I wasn't positive, but I had the vague sense it had involved Katie and me and my grandparents' empty cabin. Also a fire blazing in the fireplace and a fake bearskin rug, but that was beside the point.

My phone continued ringing, and I finally wiggled it out of my jeans pocket. My eyes widened and then narrowed when I saw who was calling: Katie.

Why the hell was she calling? Did she want a follow up about tonight? Maybe she wanted to make me swear not to tell a single soul that we had made out in the closet. That was fine with me. I hadn't been planning on telling anyone, not even Shane. That was a secret I was going to be taking to my grave.

I hit the call accept button and put my phone up to my ear. "If this is about what happened in the closet, don't worry, I'm not going to say any - "

"James, I need your help!" I heard Katie squeak out, and my senses went on red alert. Katie _never _squeaked.

"What's wrong?" I demanded, sitting bolt upright in bed. "What's going on?"

"Please...I need you to come pick me up. Or pick Jett up. Or do something. I'm on Spencer Boulevard, and he's - Jett, get off of me - fuck! He's drunk and I'm driving him home - get your greasy hands off of me you fucking fucker! Please - "

I was already climbing out of bed, reaching for my jacket, car keys, and wallet. "I'll be there in five minutes. Hang tight. You have pepper spray, _use it_."

"Okay - damn it, Stetson, I'm warning you - "

"Talk to me, Katie," I said as I dashed out of my room and down the stairs, out the front door. "And I'm serious about the pepper spray."

"I know. I know...I'm going to fucking kill my friends! I can't believe they left me alone with him!"

"Yeah...I'm going to have to have Logan talk to Camille about that..." I unlocked my car and got in, starting it up. I put my phone on speaker and set it in my cup holder so that I could buckle my seatbelt and, you know, steer the car.

I released the parking brake, shifted the gears to reverse, and backed out of the driveway. "I'm on the road now," I told Katie as I switched the gears to drive. "I'm coming, baby girl."

"Just hurry! His fingers are spidery! It's sheer luck he hasn't figured out how to get to the front of the car yet."

"Katie. Get out of the car."

"What?" she asked blankly.

"You're a smart girl. Get out of the car. With any luck, he'll either stay in the car because it's so cold outside, or he'll follow, and then you can get back in and lock him out."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you."

I smiled slightly, keeping my eyes peeled. "You mean besides my startling good looks and amazing kissing skills?"

"Smartass. And yes." There was some shifting, and a moment later, she said, "I'm outside. Dumbass. He's just sitting in there like a rock. Wait...I take that back...He's getting out..."

"Get into the car."

"I am - No!" I heard her scream, and there was a loud crack. I immediately snatched up my phone and felt my gut twist as I saw _call ended _flashing across my screen.

Oh, fuck.

I sped up a little, going as fast as I dared. I had no plans to get pulled over by a cop who was pissed off and embittered about being comissioned to work on New Year's Eve, so I knew I had to keep my speed relatively reasonable, no matter how much I wanted to jump the speedometer up to ninety.

Steering with one hand, I called Katie back, putting my phone up to my ear. It went straight to voice mail.

Either her phone was off...or it was broken. Somehow, neither boded well.

I finally reached Spencer Boulevard, and immediately spotted them. Jett had Katie pinned against her car door, holding her arms to her chest as he kissed her. I could see her visibly struggling against him, but his body was pressed against hers so she was trapped, completely trapped.

On the ground beside them, I could see a beer can, along with Katie's phone. The battery was hanging out.

I pulled over behind Katie and leapt out of my car, making sure to get the ignition off and my keys in my pocket. No way was I risking it being stolen by Stetson or some over greedy car thief. I may have been from fucking nowhere Minnesota, but that didn't mean I didn't have common sense. A hick from the sticks I sure as hell was not.

I raced towards Katie and Stetson, just as his hand slid down to her hip, before going a little lower.

"Hey. Fucker," I greeted him, tapping him on the shoulder. "I think you dropped something."

"What the - " He pulled back from Katie and I grabbed him by his shoulders, shoving him into the fence that lined the sidewalk, before throwing a punch at his face.

"You're drunk, so I'm going to save the lectures about life lessons and being responsible for your actions, since you won't remember it in the morning," I informed him as I took a couple of steps back. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to miss this golden opportunity to kick your fucking ass."

"Diamond!" he half slurred, half yelled. "You - you - you - fucker - !"

"You're worse than Katie," I told him, grabbing him as he tried to dodge around me so that he could make a beeline for Katie. "Nah uh. I don't think so. Didn't your mother ever teach you to treat girls with respect? No? Then I guess I'm going to have to do it for you." And with that, I sunk my fist into his stomach. And fuck, if it didn't feel good.

He doubled over, wheezing in pain.

"Oh, grow a pair, you baby," I tsked. "If you were on the hockey team, you would have had to take a hell of a lot more than that. So I guess it's a good thing you're not on the hockey team. And no you don't!" He tried to ram himself into me, but I grabbed the back of his shirt, steering him away, and throwing him into the fence again.

Poor fence, having Jett Stetson all over it.

"If you were actually sober, I would do a lot worse to you," I growled, walking towards him, fists raised in case he decided to attack me again. "As it is, don't think I'm not tempted to kick your sorry ass from here to Siberia. The only reason why I won't is because you probably won't remember it. Crying shame." I shoved him again, before pushing him down the sidewalk. "Does he live nearby?" I asked Katie, and she nodded.

"Just a couple of blocks away. I was going to make him get out and walk, but..."

"Yeah. I'll get him home."

"I'll go with you," she volunteered.

"You sure?" I asked, surprised, and she nodded.

"Might as well. You know, make it look good." She picked her phone up, examined it, and placed the battery back in it, closing it up. She checked it to make sure it still worked, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Of course." Together, we set off, me keeping a firm hold on Stetson. Every couple of minutes, he attempted to break free so that he could grope Katie, and he managed to make a few lewd faces at her, as well as suggesting what she could do to him, but other than that, the walk home was fairly uneventful.

Thank God.

We dropped him off at his house, with me walking him up to his front door, ringing the doorbell, and then grabbing Katie and running like hell.

We headed back to our cars, and she turned to face me. Before she could say anything, however, I spoke: "I'll follow you home, make sure you get home all right."

She gave me a small smile. "Thanks."

"No problem."

We got into our cars, and I kept a close tail on her. We arrived at her mom's house five minutes later. I parked on the curb and got out of my car, joining her in the driveway.

Katie looked up at me. "Thank you, again. Thanks for everything."

"Anyone would have done the same thing," I said quickly, waving it off.

"You didn't have to come and help. You didn't have to answer. It's late, and you were either with Lauren or sleeping."

"I was sleeping. I dropped Lauren off a couple hours ago."

"Good," she said bluntly. "Because that girl is a closeted bitch and needs to be bitch slapped. She's also a closeted slut."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "And what makes you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious? She totally has that air that tells you that she'd get down on her knees for a guy. Not your type."

"And what is my type?" I asked, my breathing hitching as she took a step towards me, winding her arms around my neck. This was wrong...way wrong...I needed to push her away...Totally needed to...Didn't really want to...Already knew I wasn't going to...Maybe she was just teasing me...Totally just teasing me...Had nothing to worry about...

Katie gave me a cheshire smile. "Someone who fights you and challenges you and makes you want to tear your hair out. Someone who you have insane chemistry with. Someone who you want to fight and fuck at the same time. In short, someone like me." And then her lips were on mine, and every single thought in my head was shut off as I kissed her back for the second time in just a few hours. I couldn't even begin to think about Lauren, or what a bitch Katie could be, or how badly she had hurt me that day several weeks ago.

All I could focus on was her, here and now; the way her lips felt against mine, the way she was pushing her body into mine, the way her teeth were biting and scraping at my bottom lip, and I was returning the favor eagerly. Fuck. Fuck it all. This was what kissing and making out and New Years kisses were all about. This was what should have happened at midnight, instead of the somewhat sloppy, awkward kiss I had shared with Lauren.

Katie whined into my mouth as I caught her bottom lip between mine and tugged slightly, and her hands scrabbled at my chest, fighting for something to grab on. I lifted her up and her legs went around my waist, just like earlier. Her fingers clawed at my coat zipper, getting it undone, but before anything else could happen, the front door was swinging open and light spilled out into the yard and driveway.

"Katie?" Mrs. Knight called from the doorway. "You home, sweetie?"

Katie pulled back from me, panting slightly. "Yeah. I'm home."

"Okay. Well, come on in. It's dangerous out here."

"I'm fine, I'm with James."

"Oh?" She stepped outside, and smiled when she saw me. "Hi, James."

I gave her a smile. "Hey, Mrs. Knight."

"Please, formalities. Call me Jenn. You two enjoy our New Year's Eve?"

A little too much…

"Yeah," I replied, while Katie nodded vigorously. "It was definitely an…interesting experience."

"Definitely," Katie replied.

"That's good. Well, Katie, come on inside, it's cold out here."

Katie gave me a small, sad smile, before heading for the house. "See you on Monday."

"Yeah…see you on Monday."

I watched as she walked into the house. She gave me a small wave, before closing the door.

I had no idea what was going to happen with us, if she was going to hate my guts come the first day back at school, or if she was actually going to be nice.

Somehow, I wasn't too hopeful about the latter.

Monday morning came way too early for my liking. It was with several well chosen cuss words that I crawled out of bed and began to get ready for school.

Once I was parked in front of the school, Shane and I got out and we headed towards the entrance, the rest of the hockey team, along with Kyle and Lauren, joined us, so that we were forming a sort of wall, a barrier, as if to block the ice skaters.

Lauren slipped her hand in mine, and I did my best not to think of a slightly smaller hand, with tiny but thin fingers. Katie...

Our group walked into the school as one, immediately coming face to face with the rest of the ice skaters. Even Jett was there, though I noticed he was keeping his distance from Katie. It was with satisfaction that I noticed the bruising around his eye, dulled by cover up, but noticeable nonetheless.

We all froze at the sight of each other, and I found myself moving to the front, Katie mirroring my motions, a small smirk playing around her lips. She crossed her arms over her chest, and I did the same thing.

"Diamond," she purred.

"Knight," I replied.

She slowly traced the tip of her tongue over her lips. "You guys look like you're ready to go to battle."

"So do you guys."

"Maybe we  
are."

"That all you have to say?"

"No, there's one more thing."

"Which is?" I prodded her.

Her smirk widened. "Let the games begin. And may the odds be ever in your favor. Or, in our favor, in this case."

"See, now that's just wishful thinking."

"Oh, you think so?"

"I do."

"We'll see. Don't you remember, Jamie? I always get what I want, and I _never _lose." And with that, she moved forward, the others following her. She bumped her hip into mine, smirked widely at Lauren, and added, "By the way, your boyfriend is an excellent kisser. Really knows how to use his tongue, if you know what I mean? No? Oh well...that's really too bad..." And smirking so widely I thought her face might break, she spun back around, and headed off towards her homeroom, leaving the rest of us just standing there.

* * *

_**So...wow. A lot of stuff happened in this chapter, and hopefully you guys liked some of the stuff. So, if you guys feel like dropping a review and letting me know what you thought about the chapter, I would love you forever :)**_


	21. Chapter 21: Which Bitch is Which?

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush, Theory of a Deadman, or their song "Bitch Came Back"...even if it is an awesome song...**_

_**Wow, no un-signed-in reviews to answer for once! So I'll just continue onto...: HUMONGOUS THANK YOU to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or/and reviewed this story! Oh my gosh, this story's at 285 reviews! THANK YOU! Also, wow. This is the twenty-first chapter! This is easily my longest BTR story so far, and that's pretty incredible. It's so weird to think that almost a year ago I posted the first chapter for "Break the Ice"...it doesn't feel that long ago, at least to me. But THANK YOU to everyone who's stuck with this story for close to a year! Oh, and don't worry. This reminiscing and trip down memory lane doesn't mean that the story's over, because believe me, it's still got a ways to go unless my plans for the story take a sudden nosedive.**_

_**Warnings: Yeah...I actually have to post warnings for this chapter. I think I've only done that for one or two other chapters...Anyway: Language (per usual), sexual innuendos, graphic sexting (as in detailed descriptions), and girls being bitches to each other. Also, there's what could be considered cyber bullying in this, so watch out for that as well if it offends you. Okay, hopefully I got everything...**_

_**Enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: Which Bitch is Which?**

**James' POV**

Lauren was the first one to break the silence. "What a bitch."

Yes, she most certainly was. And that was a really, really bad thing...So, why did my entire body now feel like it was on fire?

Well, fuck.

Choosing not to say anything, I pecked her lips quickly and hurried off towards my locker.

The next couple of weeks were so busy, what with finals, hockey practice, and our hockey game (which we won by a landslide, by the way), that barely anything passed between the hockey players and the ice skaters.

In late January, we had a week off for winter break, during which my mom took Shane, Brad (because, guess what, he hadn't disappeared yet), and me to the ocean for a few days. It was a huge relief to get away from all the drama and worry that had become my life. Katie had barely done anything, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she made a move. Lauren was clinging to me, like she was afraid I might leave her if she let go of me for one second. And Jett kept giving me a knowing smirk, which worried me more than almost anything else. I was positive he couldn't know what had passed between Katie and me in the closet and then against her car in her driveway later that evening. But that didn't mean he didn't have a reason for his smirk. Chances were it was just to get under my skin, but that didn't make me feel any better either, because I didn't know for certain if that was it. There was just something about his smirk that I didn't like, that set me on edge, that made me clenching my fingers, itching to feel my fist connect with his jaw.

If only it were that easy.

The night before we were due to return to La Castillo, I was laying on my bed, listening to my iPod and ignoring the TV that Shane had blaring as he watched some stupid reality show about whatever.

It came as a bit of a shock when my phone suddenly started vibrating, lighting up with a new text. I grabbed it and checked it, my stomach churning in what I told myself was nervousness and worry, when I had a distinct feeling it was really anticipation, when I saw it was from Katie.

With trembling fingers, I opened the new message:

**Hey, Jamie-Bear ;) Been dreaming about me? How about that night? Don't know about you, but I've been thinking A LOT about it...Gets me all worked up, know what I mean? Thinking about what could have happened if we hadn't been interrupted…;D Miss you, babe XOXO.**

I stared at the text, almost stunned at how forward it was. But then again, this was Katie we were talking about, and I knew how forward she could be.

I quickly texted her back: **None of your business. None of your business. That's good to know. And how about that?**

Not two minutes later, she replied: **Still playing the loving boyfriend, huh? You should call me up, and I could give you some real action.**

Shaking my head, I responded: **How're you going to give me real action over the phone?**

Her next text consisted of a single word: **Talking.**

**Nah, that's okay.**

**Really? Afraid you might get turned on? If you're not already, I mean.**

I bit back a whine. She knew me way too well.** Once again - none of your business!**

**You are, aren't you? Mini-James needs some love, doesn't he? All big and hard and throbbing...Mmmm...You know how good I can make him feel. If only I was there with you...**

Right on cue, Mini-James throbbed eagerly, and clutching my phone, I slipped off of my bed and scurried into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. Not that I thought anything was going to happen, but Shane would never let me hear the end of it if he knew I had gotten hard from a stupid text.

**We're not talking about Mini-James. Girlfriend, remember?**

**Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what I'd do if I was there right now?**

Don't give in, don't give in, don't give in...Before I could reply to her or set my phone down, another text from her came through.

**I'd rub my thumb over the head, which I'm sure is just streaming. And then I'd get down on my knees, licking at the slit. I'd kiss the head, because we both know how sensitive it is ;) Finally, I'd slowly take you into my mouth, or as much of you as I can, due to your size. I'd hum around you and flick my tongue over you, letting you tell me what you want me to do while your fingers tangle themselves in my hair, directing me. I'd keep it up until you finally explode in my mouth. Once you're spent, I'd lick you clean, and then stand up, before getting myself ready for round two - only with your head between my legs.**

I let out a shaky gasp. Holy fuck! How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? And now what was I supposed to do? The girl knew how to get me going, that was for sure...But that didn't explain what I was supposed to do now...

Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend, I chanted over and over in my head. It was way too tempting to call Katie up and have her talk me to an orgasm. But I was relatively sure that qualified as cheating...Not actually positive, but still. But, I mean, wouldn't it be a bit like watching porn? That didn't count as cheating. And really, I'd be doing all the work. I'd just be listening to Katie talk...

I was still pretty sure it would qualify as being unfaithful.

But damn, if it wasn't tempting...

Fuck it! She got me into this, now she was going to get me out. It was only right. And I wouldn't be jacking off to the thought of her doing it. Just to the thought of it happening. No harm, no foul.

Maybe.

Nevertheless, I dialed Katie's number. She answered on the second ring. "Thought you'd be calling." I could hear her smirk through the phone, and knew she was pretty damn pleased with herself.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I hate you?" I asked.

"Nope. But please, do go on, remind me how you hate me so much that you want to fuck me into the wall. Leave hickeys all over my body. Bite at my lips until they bleed."

"I'm hanging up now."

"Well, if you insist...Poor Mini-James," she let out a dramatic sigh. "I'm sure he's feeling awfully lonely and underappreciated right now. If you were here with me, he wouldn't feel like that at all."

"It wouldn't matter even if I didn't have a girlfriend," I informed her. "I'm not in La Castillo. I'm at Bernardo Beach."

"That's, like, a half hour away. If I left now, I could probably get there before you ended up with blue balls."

"Not talking about my balls here..."

"Why not? From what I figured out when we were fooling around, you love when they're played with."

"I'm seriously hanging up now!" I cried.

"Boo! Spoil sport. Well, I guess if you don't want my help, you could always call your loving girlfriend..."

"I could..." Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Granted, Lauren's and my relationship hadn't progressed past intense making out, but still. We were probably going to move in the general direction of sex at some point or another, so really, me asking her to talk to me would really just be a step in the right direction.

"Enjoy talking to her," Katie said to me. "I'm sure it'll be dream material."

"I'm sure it will," I responded, before hanging up for real. I quickly called Lauren.

She answered halfway through the third ring. "Hey, James!" she said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Oh, you know...just missing you..."

"Awww! I miss you too," she cooed.

"So...um...maybe you can clear something up for me...I was talking to someone, and I heard that some girls are really into dirty talking...Would you ever...?"

"Um. Not sure...I don't know, I think I'd be pretty conservative when it comes to sex."

"Ah."

"Yeah. Why?"

"Nothing."

"You okay? You sound weird."

"I'm fine," I said quickly.

"Hey - wait! You weren't asking me to...I mean...?"

"I should go."

"Look, James, I'm flattered that you want me sexually, but I really want to take this slow."

"And I totally respect that," I said quickly. I did, too. Under normal circumstances, I would have been completely happy with slow. Unfortunately, when it came to being turned on, my priorities were a little different, which I was totally blaming on Katie. But I was doing my best to get my thoughts straight, because Lauren was right about this situation. "I just...you know...thought I'd see..."

"Why? And what on earth would make you think that I'd do that?"

Whoa…Where did that come from? "Nothing! I wasn't even asking you to. Not that that wouldn't be great. Seriously, I was just wondering."

"B.S! Did Katie do it? I'm not her, James. I'm not a bitch who'll spread her legs for just anyone," she snapped into the phone.

"She's not a slut, Lauren. And she's not the one who wears low cut dresses to her boyfriend's friend's parties," I shot back, my temper on the rise.

"What I wear is my business."

"Well, it's my business when my friends start oggling you."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize the sight of my cleavage was such a huge concern of yours! And if I remember correctly, you barely gave it a second glance. You were too busy letting Katie climb all over you."

"I wasn't letting her climb all over me! And parties are not my ideal cleavage-oggling times!"

"So you have set times?"

"I - no!" I growled in frustration. "You're twisting my words around! And quit bringing Katie into everything! How many times do I have to tell you we're over?"

"Maybe I'll believe it when she starts backing off. Anyway, maybe you should get her to talk to you," she added snottily. "She's a big enough slut that she's probably had tons of experience." And with that, she hung up, leaving me gaping at my phone in complete astonishment.

Whoo hoo. Our first fight as a couple.

Fucking fantastic.

And I was still hard!

Thinking that a nice, hot shower was in order, I turned the fan on to keep the room from getting too steamed up. Before I could get the shower on, however, my phone rang.

I glanced at the screen, figuring it was probably Lauren, but nope. It was Katie.

I hit the call accept button and put the phone up to my ear. "What?"

"Why did your girlfriend just leave a message for me on my Facebook timeline, telling me to keep my paws off of you?"

"Because she just went psycho bitch on me?"

"You should probably break up with her."

"Ha, ha, nice try. It was just a fight."

"I'm sure," Katie said coolly. "She also called me a slut bitch whore man eater. Care to explain?"

"Honestly, I don't know how to explain the one..."

"Well, either way, your girlfriend isn't all cookies and cream, darling. She's definitely got her bitchy side. And I'm on the receiving end. Which, really, I don't mind too much, because it means I'm getting under her skin and making her uncomfortable."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

"She didn't help you, did she?"

"I could be taking a shower to wash off."

"But you're not. I could drive down there, you know. Help you out."

"That's considered cheating, Katie."

"Your girlfriend just pulled a _Mean Girls _on me! Dude! She posted it where everyone could read it."

"Why are you friends with her on Facebook?"

"We had to do a project together back in middle school. I never deleted her off from my friend's list. Really wishing I had now...I may be a bitch, but I don't leave messages where people's friends and family members can see. She called me a man eater, James! And a slut! And a whore! That is not okay! Do something!"

"I'll talk to her," I sighed. "You're right, that was pretty nasty of her."

"No shit. Anyway, push your pants down, because I'm talking to you now, whether you like it or not. And if you hang up, I'm just going to text you. Maybe I'll even send you messages on Facebook, where you have to read them before you can delete them. Anyway, it's not cheating, because I'm not giving you any choice. Besides, cock tease would be added to the list if I didn't finish what I started," she added, slightly bitterly.

"Katie..."

"No, don't _Katie _me. Now your girlfriend's got me all pissed off, and all I want to do now is pin you to my bed and have my way with you..."

I fought back a whimper, but it still managed to escape me.

"Ooh, you like that. Good. Time for the details..."

"No!" I cried. "No...I can't...I – bye!" And with that I hung up. I shut my phone off and climbed into the shower, before she could call back or text me. I wasn't taking any chances here. No matter how much I'd love some help at the moment, I wasn't going to cheat on my girlfriend again. New Year's Eve had been under special circumstances, but these circumstances weren't all that unique.

At last, winter break was over, and Shane and I found ourselves once more pulling into the parking lot, ready for a new semester. Our schedules were pretty much the same as the last semester. The only difference in mine was that instead of taking English, I had chosen Drama, so that I could begin easing myself back into the performing arts.

Definitely something was I looking forward to.

It was my last class of the day, but I saw it as a good thing, because at least I'd have something to look forward to throughout the day. I wasn't sure if I was going to have any classes with Katie, although to be completely truthful, it wouldn't surprise me.

Lauren had called me up a couple of days after our fight to apologize. She had deleted the post from Katie's Facebook timeline, and assured me that she felt awful about the way she overreacted. It was just that she was insecure when it came to Katie's and my former relationship.

I was beginning to get a little bit annoyed by that. It seemed that whenever a problem came up, she immediately blamed it on me having some sort of fucked up relationship with Katie Knight. And I was getting sick and tired of it. I hadn't had to tell her about my problems with Katie, and her insecurities were just adding to the whole situation.

And on some level, I knew she had every right to be insecure, considering the last two times Katie and I had been completely alone, we'd ended up making out. And yeah, that was considered cheating. But I was pretty sure she had kissed Dak Zevon in the closet at Carlos' party, so really, we were pretty even if you thought about it.

Together, Shane and I made our way into the school and to our lockers. About five seconds after I reached my locker, Lauren popped up out of nowhere, smiling sweetly at me. "Hi, baby," she greeted me as she stood on her tip toes to peck my lips.

"Hey," I replied as I worked the combination on my locker. I got the door open and began to put the books that I wouldn't need on the shelves. I had just finished when the entire hall suddenly went quiet.

Only one thing could cause that kind of quiet…

I spun around and sure enough, the female ice skaters were sauntering down the hall together, their arms looped through each other's like a human chain.

One by one, the links were broken as they headed off to their different lockers. At last, it was just Katie making her way through the crowd, but she parted it as if she was carrying a flaming torch. My eyes widened as she approached me. Whoa…She had gone for casual, yet almost badass, with a destroyed jean miniskirt, a slightly low cut blue short sleeved top, and black lace up ankle boots with stiletto heels…

She smirked as she reached me, tossing her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Hey, James," she purred, purposefully bumping her hip into mine, before wedging herself between Lauren and me to get to her locker.

"Uh, hello, James and I were talking!" Lauren cried, looking beyond outraged.

Katie blinked innocently at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. And it didn't sound like you were talking. Seemed more like you were just standing there. Sorry, I guess you two can communicate telepathically. Kudos to you." She gave Lauren a sarcastic smirk and a double thumbs up, before shaking her head, rolling her eyes, and turning back to her locker.

"When are you going to stop throwing yourself at James?" Lauren asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm dating him, not you. You lost your chance."

Katie spun around on her heel and marched right up to Lauren, her jaw setting and a steely gleam appearing in her eyes.

From down the hall, someone began singing, "'_The bitch came back/The very next day/Oh the bitch came back/I thought she was a goner/But the bitch came back/She couldn't stay away/Don't you know the bitch came back_?'"

Katie snapped her head in the direction of the song. "_Shut up_," she snarled, before focusing her attention on Lauren. "Here's the deal, Lauren," she said coolly, "I'm very much aware that you're dating James, and that you want to keep him. I get that, I do." She put her hand over her heart for effect, before dropping her arm and adapting a bitchy look once more. "But he was _mine_ first. I made a mistake, and believe me, if I could take it back, I would in a second. But I want him back, and the person who's standing in the way of me getting what I want is _you_. So unless you want a full on bitch attack – which will make what I said about your friend, Misty, look like Kindergarten teasing – I suggest you back the hell out of my business."

"You're not getting my boyfriend," Lauren retorted. "He won't go for you again. His taste is too good for that."

"And you consider yourself to be in good taste?" Katie looked her up and down. "Honey, if your shirt was any lower, your cleavage would be out and walking around the school by itself. Quick word of advice – put your boobs away. We get you have them, but we don't need to see them in the flesh."

"You're showing off cleavage," Lauren pointed out, indicating Katie's shirt.

She shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't look like I belong on _Jersey Shore_. You do."

I groaned. "Katie, we've gone over this. I'm with Lauren."

"Yeah, you're starting to sound repetitive and half hearted," she informed me. "But by all means, keep on lying to yourself that Lauren is what you want. I'll be here waiting when you figure it out."

Lauren relaxed slightly. "So, you're just going to wait for James and me to be over?"

Katie snorted. "Does that fit in with my M.O? No. I'm going to do everything I can to get James back, and I don't really care what I have to do. Anyway, we need to get to homeroom. See you guys later. Oh, and James? See you in Drama."

"Wait – what?"

"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I signed up for that class as well. I've always wanted to take an acting class, and it seemed like a good place to start. But other than that, my schedule's pretty much the same as last semester. How about yours?"

I wordlessly nodded.

"Good. Then I'll see you in PE, and then in Chem." She grinned. "This semester's going to be so much fun, don't you think?"

"Ummm…"

Her grin widened and she blew me a kiss, before spinning around and ambling back down the hall, hips swinging.

"I can't stand that girl," Lauren stated, scowling as she watched Katie walk away.

"She's…interesting…"

"You can say that again."

"Anyway, we do need to get to homeroom." I kissed her quickly before leading her down the hall, towards our separate classrooms.

* * *

**Katie's POV**

The good news about this semester: I had finally moved on from algebra to statistics. The bad news about this semester: James and Lauren.

I shook my head to myself as I mentally replayed my conversation with Lauren from that morning in the hall. I got why she was being such a bitch, but she needed a new color, because bitch didn't suit her in the least. Or maybe it did, and she just never brought that side of her out to play. Either way, she was getting in my way of what I wanted, and as everyone in this whole damn school knew, I always got what I wanted.

And this was not going to be the exception. I wanted James more than almost anything.

And wow, that sounded so _Twilight_ and _50 Shades of Grey_…It was fine for those two series, but for me? Not a chance. I was just starting to sound pathetic, like a love struck teenager who was constantly pining after a boy who wouldn't give her the time of day.

But the fact was, I had wanted him from day one and I had refused to admit it. And now that I had, it was too late, at least in theory. But I was never good with theories and technicalities and all that bullshit that would keep anyone else from going after James. I didn't really give a fuck if he had a girlfriend or not. Unless he had been bonded for life with her via blood oath, I could get around whatever she tossed my way. One of the good things about being such a notorious bitch? Not actually giving a damn if you have to push someone out of the way to get to the place you want to be.

And Lauren hadn't even tried to sit down and talk to me about the whole situation. If she had done that, if she had been nice and polite, maybe I would have been more willing to wait until she and James inevitably broke up. And yes, I know, I hadn't exactly been all that sweet and friendly to her. But she could have pulled me aside and told me to back the fuck off, instead of going on the defensive and acting like a wounded, territorial victim here. Couldn't she take the hint that James was only with her because he thought he should be? Because she was available? Because she wasn't me?

With a groan, I left the statistics classroom and headed in the direction of girls' locker room, where I met up with Stephanie. We went on in together and made our way through the small crowd of girls to our lockers.

"Oh, great," Stephanie groaned from beside me. "The wannabe Mrs. James Diamond is apparently in PE with us."

I glanced in the direction she was scowling in, and let out a groan as well. Sure enough, Lauren had just entered the room with a couple of her friends, giggling and smiling.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes as I pulled my shirt over my head and unhooked my bra. I tugged my sports bra down over my chest, arranging it so that it laid right. Before I could reach for my school issued PE t-shirt, however, I heard Lauren's voice float directly towards me.

"You know, its times like these when I'm so happy I have an actual chest. At least I have an excuse to wear a bra. And in a sports bra, I still have boobs, rather than those poor flat chested girls." She threw an evil smirk at me, and my jaw dropped.

Oh no she didn't! She just went straight for the chest!

I turned to Stephanie. "Did you know that smaller chests are actually more sensitive? Apparently all breasts have the same amount of nerve endings and whatnot, and with smaller boobs, they're in a more compact casing. So I guess girls with smaller chests can feel more pleasure." I smiled sweetly at Lauren, before pulling my t-shirt over my head and straightening it out. "I know when I was with James, it was pretty awesome."

Stephanie slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at the look on Lauren's face. She looked stunned. Good. She deserved it.

But she snapped out of it after a few seconds. She addressed her friend, while half facing me. "Did I tell you James invited me over to dinner at his house on Friday evening? He wants me to meet his mom and get to know his brother more."

"Big whoop," I said to Stephanie. "I was over at James' house the day after we kissed for the first time."

"And the other evening, after he got home from Bernardo Beach, we drove to Make Out Point and spent most of the night there. We ended up in the backseat of his car, and things definitely got pretty heated. God, Bethany, he is _such_ an amazing kisser, and so good with his hands, if you know what I mean." She moaned at the memory, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to throw up right then and there, or punch her in the face.

Both sounded like pretty good options.

I tied my sneakers, before looking at Stephanie, a lot more stung by what had happened between James and Lauren than I had expected. "Come on, let's head out there."

She nodded and together we headed out, while I grinded my teeth. If Lauren had ever been going to get a reprieve, she sure as hell wasn't now.

I was going to make her relationship with James a living hell if it was the last thing I did.

* * *

_**First off, I really hope I didn't offend anyone with any of the content in this chapter...I'm trying to keep things at a T rating, but it's not going so well...Still hoping the rating won't actually need to get changed. And second...wow. If Lauren wasn't on Katie's hit list, she is now. And yes, I know Katie and James are both starting to sound repetitive, but it's necessary for the story. James is trying to stay in one frame of mind, and Katie just simply hasn't gotten the chance to do anything major (besides sext him and get him hot and bothered). Also, I'm really hoping no one got offended or upset with their back and forth on chests, because that wasn't my intention at all. It was simply Katie and Lauren being Katie and Lauren. Third...I would love to hear your opinions on this chapter, so please, feel free to leave a review and let me know if you liked it or not. I would really appreciate it :)**_


	22. Chapter 22: Truces

_**I'm FINALLY updated Break the Ice! I'm so sorry for the wait, but I hope this chapter makes it up to you guys.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Big Time Rush or anything that is recognizable in this story.**_

_**Bailey: Aww, thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying it! I'm sorry that you had to wait, but I hope you like this chapter :) And thank you for reviewing, I really appreciate it.**_

_**HUGE THANK YOUs to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! Thank you so, so much! I love hearing from you guys, I always get so happy when I read your reviews :)**_

_**Okay, so, I was hoping to get this chapter up, well, a couple of weeks ago. Believe me, the long wait was not intentional, but I ended up getting blocked with this chapter, and then I got really busy with school. Hopefully you guys won't have to wait so long for the next chapter. And the epilogue for "Touch the Flame" and the next chapter for "Take the Heat" are both underway, they're just going slowly.**_

_**Enjoy the chapter :)**_

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Truces**

**Katie's POV**

James and Carlos were already in the gym, talking and laughing about whatever it is that boys talk and laugh about. Stephanie bit her lip as she eyed Carlos.

"I think you still have a chance with him," I told her. "If you want him."

"He's not my usual type…" she said thoughtfully. "He's different…"

"He likes you, you know. It's pretty obvious."

"He didn't like me on New Year's Eve."

"He didn't like any of us on New Year's Eve. It had to do with us crashing the party."

"True," she conceded. "I don't know. Maybe I'll talk to him in chem."

"Okay."

I watched James intently, my arms crossed over my chest. After a few moments, he looked around, and our eyes locked. He said something to Carlos, before moving towards me.

And then Lauren stepped out of the locker room, looking all shiny and radiant with her strawberry blonde hair pulled into a perfect ponytail and her skin glistening with…what? Moisturizer? Who the hell wore moisturizer to a high school PE class?!

She shot me a smirk before sauntering over to James, hips swinging. She intercepted him halfway towards me, and kissed him deeply, pressing her chest against his.

"Bitch," I mumbled as I turned away from them.

Stephanie nodded in agreement, before saying, "Looks like Carlos is coming over here."

I glanced back over my shoulder. Sure enough, Carlos was making his way over to us.

"What's up?" I asked as he reached us.

"Not much, just wanted to get away from James and Lauren – especially Lauren."

"You don't like her?"

"She's…She kind of rubs me the wrong way. Like, I'm sure she's a really nice person, but she kind of drives me nuts. And she's so clingy to James. She's steadily turning into the nightmare girlfriend, you know? I think she's driving James insane, he immediately started grinding his teeth when he saw her."

My eyebrows shot up and I smirked. "Really? In-ter-esting…"

"You can say that again…Not sure how much the other guys really like her, either. I mean, I think they liked her okay, we all did, but then at my New Year's Eve party…" He shook his head. "I'm not going to lie, the fact that she went into the closet with Dak Zevon just strikes me as…wrong. And from what Dak told me, there was definitely some lip action going on in there."

I scuffed the toe of my sneaker against the gymnasium floor, my mind flashing back to the lip action that had gone on – twice – between James and me that same night.

"So I don't know…It seems like she's trying to be too…_too_…If that even makes any sense. Like she's trying to be cool and wild and sexy and down for anything, which is really pretty stupid because that's not what James wants."

"What does James want?" Stephanie asked curiously with a glance at me.

"Someone who doesn't act like he's going to run away. Someone who's not going to go make out with some other guy when she's at a party with _him_. Someone who isn't freaking paranoid."

"Sounds like Katie could fit that M.O," Stephanie commented, grinning at me.

"A lot of girls could," Carlos pointed out. "But yeah, she's as good an example as anyone else."

"She's perfect for James, and we all know it. And so does Lauren."

Carlos didn't say anything, but I could tell by the look on his face that he agreed.

PE began a couple of minutes later, and we were split into teams for volleyball. I smirked widely when James ended up on my team, and Lauren was placed on the opposite team. Hah! In your face, Lauren Winters.

James walked over to me and I grinned at him. "Hey, partner."

"Hey…"

"What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Yet you're over here, and not making kissy faces through the net to your girlfriend."

"If you're going to be rude – "

"If I'm going to be rude, then what? You're going to stop playing with me on the playground?" I placed my hands on my hips. "You're going to avoid me? You've tried that before and it didn't work."

"If you're going to be rude, then I'm not going to talk to you."

"Fine. Have it your way."

He sighed. "Look, would it be at all possible to just…I don't know, try to get along long enough to beat the other team?"

"I guess so…Although, I'm not the one with the stick up my ass."

"Is it possible for you to _not_ go on the defensive?"

"You tell me."

He groaned.

"Okay, okay," I relented. "I'll behave myself, I'll be nice, I'll watch my tongue."

"Thank you."

"Mmm hmm."

"So…truce?" He held out his hand, and I shook it.

"Until PE is over."

"Sounds like a plan," he grinned.

I would just like to say that Lauren clearly isn't as athletic as she thinks she is. The entire game, she ducked behind Carlos, who was on the other team, occasionally grabbing his arm when the ball was headed straight for them. Stephanie spent so much time rolling her eyes that I was amazed her eyes actually managed to stay in their sockets. James and I were actually able to work together, and I'm pretty sure it was because of us that we kicked the other team's ass. Oh yeah!

"Well, that was embarrassing," Carlos grumbled as he joined James and me on the other side of the net once PE was over.

"It wasn't that bad," Lauren insisted, draping herself all over James while simultaneously nibbling on his neck. He squirmed away from her, looking extremely uncomfortable, but not before my stomach rolled with nausea.

Slut.

Bitch.

Stupid PDA.

Get a room.

Or better yet, don't.

"We were crushed," Carlos snapped at Lauren. "Have you never played volleyball?"

"I don't like playing sports that involve using my hands. I prefer to kick balls."

Both boys immediately scooted a few inches away from her, while Stephanie snickered. "Just make sure it's not your boyfriend's balls."

I smirked. "How weird. I prefer to use my hands when it comes to balls."

Lauren's eyes narrowed, before she grabbed James in a deep kiss – gross – and stomped into the girls' locker room. Well, she sure told me. Especially since James was now wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I officially hate bubblegum flavored lip gloss," he stated.

Stephanie cracked up, while I just grinned. James and I both knew I didn't use bubblegum lip gloss, that I preferred cherry, strawberry, and vanilla, all flavors he liked.

"I'm going to go get changed," he grumbled. "I'll see you guys in chemistry." He headed off to the boys' locker room, looking very disgruntled.

"He needs to break up with Lauren," I stated. "She's so clingy and so…not for James."

"He likes clinginess," Carlos told me. "Just not the way Lauren's doing it…"

"Tell me about it. He hates PDA, at least with her. And she was bragging in the girls' locker room about how they went up to Make Out Point and fooled around and stuff. It was sickening."

Carlos blinked. "I don't think there was a lot of fooling around…nothing good anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't actually know what happened, James didn't go into details, but it sounds like things got pretty boring, pretty fast."

I smirked. "How about that?"

"How can fooling around get boring?" Stephanie demanded. "Was it just really awkward?"

"Look, I don't know," Carlos raised his hands up as if to ward us off. "I just know what James told me. If you want to know what happened, then ask him."

"Maybe I will," I said thoughtfully. "Hopefully we'll still be partners in chem."

"After your last semester? You and James blew up the table. I doubt Ms. Straumner will be stupid enough to put you two together again," Steph pointed out.

I shrugged. "She was stupid enough to do it once. And we did much better after we blew up the table."

"I repeat, Ms. Straumner would be very stupid to put you two together again."

"But if she does put us together, than that's almost an hour a day that I can use to prove to James that I'm what he wants."

"Like he doesn't already know that," Stephanie said. "I'm pretty sure he's figured that out, he's not stupid. He's just a stubborn ass."

I sighed, tugging at my ponytail. "I wish he'd be less of a stubborn ass."

"I just want him to be happy," Carlos spoke up. "And he's miserable with Lauren."

"Well, why hasn't he broken up with her?" Stephanie demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "If he's so damn miserable, shouldn't he be trying to get rid of her rather than keeping her around?"

"He likes her as a person. He likes her in general. As a girlfriend…she's not what he wants, but he doesn't want to admit that. I think he's still hoping that something will click into place for them."

"And is that actually going to happen?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"No clue."

"I guess we'll find out," Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. "Come on, let's go shower and get changed and listen to Lauren talk about how great having an actual chest is. Bitch."

I nodded in agreement, before saying bye to Carlos and going into the girls' locker room. I immediately spotted Lauren, standing around in her gym shorts and sports bra, as she chatted with a friend. My eyes narrowed and my lip curled up in disgust.

Exhibitionist.

Slut.

James stealer.

I slid over to her, as I headed for my locker. "Just so you know," I said as I passed by her, "James hates your bubblegum flavored lip gloss."

I caught sight of the death glare on her face once I reached my locker door, and I smirked widely. I really hope she had ice for that burn.

The bitch was definitely back, and it felt fucking good.

Five minutes later, I headed to chem., and smirked when I saw James already sitting at our old table, a disgruntled look on his face. I sauntered over to him and slid into the seat beside him. "Are we keeping the same partners as last semester?"

"I think so. It looks like the people who are already here are sitting with their old partners."

"Cool. When we're not blowing up tables, we really do make a pretty damn good team."

He gave me a half smile. "Yeah, we do."

"And, it's thanks to you that I passed English. I get to go back to ice skating practice today."

His smile widened. "Yeah, I was meaning to ask you about that. Congratulations!"

"Thanks! I'm looking forward to it."

"Even though it means having to put up with Sarah?"

"Eh, I'll deal with it. I'm just looking forward to being back out on the ice. I've missed it so much."

"I'm sure."

I nodded and crossed my right leg over my left one. "So, what do you think of my outfit? I thought I'd change it up a little bit since it's a new semester. My mom took me shopping after Christmas and helped me refurbish my wardrobe."

"Yeah…um…it's different. Looks good, though."

"Thanks." I ran the toe of my boot up his leg and he gave a small shudder. "I'm glad that it works."

"Yeah…" he swallowed. "It really does."

I smirked and let my foot drift farther up his leg, to his thigh.

"Katie…"

"Yes?"

He placed his hand on my leg, but paused once he made skin to skin contact. My eyes darted up to his, our gazes locking as his thumb slipped around to the back of my leg, my breath hitching slightly.

There was a long pause, neither of us blinking.

And then Kendall and Carlos walked into the room.

James let go of my leg like a hot brick, and I slammed my foot back down to the floor. They both stared at us for several long seconds as if they weren't entirely sure they had seen what they thought they had. I shrugged unconcernedly at them and pulled out my textbook, just for something to do.

James let out a long breath and got out his own book, looking a little dazed.

I knew exactly how he felt.

He really needed to get rid of Lauren.

Before either of us could say anything to break the silence, however, Ms. Straumner walked into the room.

Guess playtime was over.

Class began soon after, and then James and I were both distracted by the lecture, focusing instead on taking notes, rather than on the tension that was still extremely palpable.

Once class was over, we packed up and Kendall and Carlos grabbed him before I could say anything to him. Jo and Stephanie approached me, and I just sighed, looping my arms through theirs as we walked out of the room together.

Lunch went by quickly, with me busily ignoring James' table. Lauren and Kyle were both sitting over there now, and Lauren was hanging all over James. It looked like he was having trouble eating with the way she kept shifting and blocking him from his food.

Poor guy.

Okay, so I wasn't actually ignoring them. But it was extremely hard to when I could hear Lauren's loud, obnoxious giggle from across the cafeteria. I was grinding my teeth so furiously that by the end of the day I was going to need false ones. Could she get any more annoying?

"Just relax," Jo advised me. "She's a bitch, nothing more, nothing less. It's you James wants."

"But he's with her."

"But didn't you two have a moment or something in chemistry?" Stephanie asked me as she spooned granola topped yogurt into her mouth.

"A little bit…"

"And it's like Carlos said, he's hoping things will get better with Lauren, but we all know they won't. She's too busy competing with you to really think about her relationship with James."

"She's right," Camille nodded in agreement. "She probably wasn't like that to begin with, but once she realized that James still wants you…she's never going to be able to hold onto him if she keeps that up."

"Exactly," Jo said. "She's as good as lost him."

"What're we talking about?" Jett asked as he slid into the chair beside mine.

I immediately got to my feet. "None of your business, perv."

"Really, Katie, really? You're still holding something against me that I did when I was drunk."

"In case you haven't heard, jackass, attempted date rape is serious business."

"Please. It gave you an excuse to let James Diamond rescue you. And it wasn't attempted date rape. Besides, I was drunk, so it wouldn't count, anyway."

I rolled my eyes, deciding now wasn't the time to argue with him about this. Of course he wouldn't think it was a big deal – he didn't have the morals or brain functions to even consider that what he had done was wrong. "Whatever. See you guys at ice skating practice," I added to Jo, Camille, and Stephanie.

"Wait – were you guys talking about that hockey dude? James Diamond?" Jett asked suddenly.

"Once again – none of your business," I informed him, before stalking off to throw the remnants of my lunch away and spend the rest of my lunch period curled up in the library.

At last, it was time to head to ice skating practice.

It was a relief to lock myself in the ice rink's locker room, to slip into my ice skating dress, to lace up my skates. I pulled my hair into a bun and walked out, breathing in the chilly air, feeling my body relax even more.

Sarah was waiting for me when I walked out into the rink. She eyed me. "Warm ups. Let's begin."

And so started my first ice skating practice since October.

By the time I had finished practice, Sarah had declared that I was about as graceful and smooth on the ice as a clumsy hippo. Apparently I weighed as much as one, too. I guess hippos' weight is usually somewhere in the ninety to ninety-five pound range. Yeah, I definitely hadn't missed her, or her criticisms…or her insults. But I took them, kept my lips zipped shut, and once she gave me the okay, began making my way back towards the locker room.

"Oh…Katie?"

I turned around to face Sarah once more. "Yeah?"

"Are you still seeing that hockey player?"

"It's hard not to – I have several classes with him."

She scowled at me. "Don't get smart with me, Katie. Are you romantically involved with him?"

I gave a short, bitter laugh. "Clearly you aren't down with the gossip in the halls. James is dating some big boob slut chick. I'm out of the picture."

"Good. He wasn't good for you, he distracted you from practice, and with the late winter and spring competitions so close, we can't have your head anywhere but where it needs to be, now can we?"

"You mean on the rink? On the ice? On my routine?"

"Exactly. There will be plenty of time for boys later on. And the boy who you'll end up with won't be held down by family secrets."

"Shane isn't a family secret."

"Really? Then why isn't he out to the world?" she retorted.

I placed my hands on my hips. "You don't know a single damn thing about the Diamonds, don't start jumping to conclusions. That family has been nicer to me than you've been in the six years that I've known you. You're my coach, so focus on my ice skating, and not what's happening in my personal life. It's _my_ life, not _yours_. Get the fuck over it." And with that, I stormed into the locker room, absolutely seething.

I walked into the theater fifteen minutes later, my messenger bag slung over my shoulder. James was already sitting in one of the seats, elbows on his knees, hands folded. He was gazing almost longingly at the stage, not even blinking.

I giggled slightly and walked over to him. "Hey, stranger."

He looked up at me as I approached. "Hey, Katie."

"Mind if I sit here?" I nodded towards the empty seat beside him.

"Go for it. I don't think anyone else we're friends with is going to be in this class, so…"

"Sweet. Guess it's just the two of us." I sat down beside him. "So, happy to be back in the theater?"

"A lot happier than I ever thought I would be. But it's almost a relief, you know?"

I nodded. "I do. I just had my first ice skating practice in a few months. I mean, I've been on the ice, just not like that. Not really training. I missed it. It was amazing to be back out there."

"Yeah?" he kept his eyes fixed on me. "How was Sarah?"

I groaned. "Urrghh…I really don't want to talk about her. She's a bitch, nothing but a judgmental bitch."

"I think we already knew that." He playfully bumped his shoulder against mine. "Didn't we figure that out the night at the drive-in?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm not starving myself because of her this time. She compared me to a clumsy hippo. That was just downright rude."

"Not only that, but you look nothing like a hippo. She needs to come up with better comparisons."

I laughed. "That she does. So, looking forward to our first drama class?"

"Yeah, so much."

"It'll be fun."

"I have to say, I was a little surprised when you said you'd signed up for this class."

I shrugged. "I always wanted to take a drama class, and when I registered for this class, we were on better terms. I just thought it'd be something fun to do. And then I went and screwed it up."

"Katie – "

"No, listen. Please? I screwed it up, and I'm sorry. Before I broke up with you – whatever the hell it was that I did – something happened. I got a text – "

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," a voice said from the doorway. An all-too familiar voice.

Oh, shit.

Mrs. Waddleburger was our drama teacher.

James sat straight up, before staring at her, and then looking back at me. After a long moment, he cracked up.

Mrs. Waddleburger crossed the room and stepped up onto the stage, smoothing out her pencil skirt. "Some of you may know me as an English teacher, but as the school's old drama teacher, Mr. Simpkins, was forced into early retirement last semester, I volunteered to take over this class as well."

No. Nononononono! This couldn't be happening! I couldn't have Mrs. Waddleburger as a drama teacher! I had just barely escaped her doughy clutches. This wasn't happening. I was dreaming. It was all a nightmare. I was going to wake up at any moment –

"So," James smirked at me. "You and Wattburgon are back together. How do you feel about that?"

I blinked at him. "Who's Wattburgon?"

"Excuse me – Waddleburger."

"Save me, James!" I whispered desperately to him, clinging to his arm. "Don't let her get me!"

"She's not going to get you," he murmured me, wrapping an arm around me. "Relax. You'll be okay."

I whined, but leaned into him anyway. Ooh, warm and comfy. I had missed this.

Waddleburger passed out syllabuses and gave us a brief synopsis of what this semester would entail, including putting on a play at the end of the school year.

I had the strangest feeling that Sarah was going to kill me…No way was drama going to sail smoothly around ice skating practice. No way in hell.

We managed to get through drama, and then it was time for my second ice skating practice of the day, and hockey practice for James. Goody.

I grabbed the books I would need out of my locker, before heading towards the smaller ice rink. It wasn't being closed down yet, not until they decided whether or not to reopen the town ice rink, thank goodness. Otherwise we would have been in a much worse position than we already were. With everything that had been happening lately, I didn't need any more complications or drama in my life.

Just as I was walking up to the entrance, Shane stepped out in front of me, nearly scaring me out of my mind.

"What the fuck?!" I cried as I placed my hand over my heart. "Are you trying to jump out at random people, or did you draw my name out of a hat?"

"No…Look, I need to talk to you, but I don't want to do it with the hockey team or the ice skaters around."

"If this is about Kyle – "

"It's not. It's about my brother."

"Oh." I paused, before glancing at the time on my phone. "What the hell, I have a few minutes. Come on." I pushed into the rink's lobby and led him over to a bench. We sat down and I turned to face him. "So, spill. What's up?"

He took a deep breath. "You know as well as I do that Lauren isn't right for James."

"No shit, Sherlock, where ya been?"

Shane glared at me. "That's not my point. My point is, is that I get it."

"You – what?" I stared at him in bewilderment. "Get what?"

"Get where you're coming from. If some random dude – or girl, whichever the case may be – was suddenly all over Kyle, I would be pretty pissed off, and I'd probably do whatever it takes to get him back."

"I – yeah – okay…"

"But James doesn't work that way. His _brain_ doesn't work that way. You seriously hurt him, Katie. Kyle's said that you had your reasons, and I'm sure you do. But the reasons you gave James were shit, and you ended up breaking his heart."

"I know. Believe me, I know," I said, almost pleadingly. "And if I could take it back, I would. I know I made a mistake, and if I could redo it – "

He held up his hand. "Also not what I was getting at. James knows you're sorry, we all do. And I know that since then, some things have happened between you two."

I blushed slightly. "Not too much…"

"Enough to confirm that he's still into you."

"Okay...are you getting to your actual point anytime soon? Because eventually we're going to have to move so that the construction team can come in and demolish the rink."

He glared at me. "Smartass."

"Thank you. I try."

Shane rolled his eyes. "My point is, you really hurt James. But I just saw him, and he said you two were getting along a lot better, that it was like November and early December, when you were friends, but on the brink of maybe becoming something more."

I smiled a little. "Yeah…that's kind of what it's like."

"And I want you to keep it there."

"What?"

"I want you to back off of him a little bit. I'm not saying this to be a jerk. I truly like you, even though you have repeatedly hurt my brother. I mean, okay, you're not my favorite person in the world by any means, and there's been a couple of times where if it wasn't wrong to hit a girl, I totally would have hit you."

"Wow, thanks."

"But I like you more than Lauren. I mean, she's nicer than you, but you and James fit better together – no jokes! I don't want to hear about how well you two _fit_ together."

I smirked. "Payback's a bitch, huh?"

"I knew making those jokes about you two would come back to haunt me…Anyway, I'd rather it be you with James, and I think James does too. But he's stubborn as hell, and you're going to need to regain his trust. Because that right there is why he's still with Lauren. He trusts her. He doesn't trust you. He let you in and you threw him to the wolves. So, regain his trust. Be his friend. And make it clear every now and then that when he and Lauren finally do break up, that you'll be there for him, waiting. That you're not giving up on him. But tell him that you're backing off, because he needs his space. He is so into you, Katie, but he doesn't trust you, and nothing's going to happen until that changes."

I nodded. "I get it. I'll back off, I'll regain his trust. I'll be his friend."

He smiled. "Thank you. That's all I'm asking." He gave me a quick hug, before getting to his feet. "I've gotta run, I've got hockey practice, and you've got ice skating practice."

"Yeah." I stood up and walked over to the glass wall into the rink. "Hmm…looks like everyone but Jett is in there. I wonder where that weasley little perv is."

Shane shrugged. "Beats me. And honestly, I don't care."

"I'm sure you don't. I'll see you later."

"Yeah…wait. One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"For the record, Kyle misses you."

"He does?"

Shane nodded. "Very much. He's still angry and hurt, but he does miss you."

I sighed. "I miss him too."

"I figured. I just thought I'd tell you…"

"Thanks…see you later."

"Yeah, see you later." He headed off, and I let out a breath. Okay, time to switch up game plans.

* * *

**Lauren's POV**

I could hear him creeping up behind me as I sat in the library, reading a book.

I turned around and fixed Jett Stetson with a glare. "Don't you have ice skating practice?"

He smirked and slid into the chair beside me. "I thought I might find you here. Waiting for Diamond?"

"Yes. I thought maybe we could go out for ice cream or something after practice."

"What are you guys, twelve? He doesn't want to go out for ice cream. What he wants is to get a certain petite brunette in the backseat of his car and have his wicked way with her."

I idly flipped a page of the book I was reading, kicking the leg of the table with my foot. "What's your point?"

"My point is, is that you're barely holding onto him with a ripped thread. He's not going to stay with you."

"I'm really not getting why you care so much. I mean, you texted me out of the blue yesterday and told me you had something interesting to tell me about my boyfriend and Katie. I knew I shouldn't have given you my number at the New Year's Eve party. Anyway, what do you want?"

He leaned back in his chair, pushing it onto its hind legs. "You want to keep James, right?"

"Yeah, of course. He's awesome. Nice and sweet and funny and hot. The only problem with him is that he comes with a certain clingy, needy, slutty little bitch who can't even fill out an A cup bra. And for whatever reason, James doesn't mind. And I don't get it. Although I guess since she's willing to put out…" I grinded my teeth. "How do you compete with someone who your boyfriend was friends with benefits with and who he's clearly into?"

Jett shrugged. "You spread rumors about her? Half lies?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What're you getting at?"

"You want to keep James. I want Katie."

I scoffed. "Since when?"

"Since Garcia's New Year's Eve party. Katie and I made out."

My eyebrows shot up. "Clearly she's not picky about where her lips go."

"I'm just going to ignore the insult. I want Katie. You want to hang onto James. So, I say we work together."

I surveyed him. "And what do you suggest we do? Because if it involves touching you in any way or making out with you, I'll have you know that I have pepper spray and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Good to know. And no, that wasn't what I was going to suggest. The only girl who I want to be touching me or making out with is Katie."

"Then what? What do you want us to do?"

"We tell everyone that she and I slept together."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You told me you guys just made out. You want to change it to hooking up?"

He nodded. "Why not? Think about it. Diamond wouldn't want anything to do with her – he can't stand me, and he can barely stand her half the time. And Diamond is the only thing that's standing in the way of me getting what I want. He'll see you're the better option and stay with you, while Katie – poor, sweet, misunderstood Katie – will come running into my arms, and voila, hole in one."

"Gross. And I really don't know…I mean, I don't like the girl in the least…but spreading rumors about her? And telling everyone that she slept with you? Isn't just spreading rumors about her bad enough?"

He let out a huffy breath. "Well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this…"

"Oh no…resort to what?" I demanded, bookmarking the page I was on and closing my book.

"You do know that Diamond wasn't actually doing whatever lie he told you he was doing with Katie in the closet at Garcia's party, right?"

I gritted my teeth. "He told me they were talking – whisper-yelling, I think he said – and yes, I'm aware that they were probably kissing. I have never seen him look that way after…yeah, not important."

"And Katie and I had a minor discretion that same night, and James came running to her rescue. I seriously doubt nothing happened when Diamond took Katie home."

"Wow. He didn't tell me about that at all."

Jett shrugged. "You should ask him. See what he says."

"I will. Though I'm sure you're right," I added bitterly. "I know Katie was sexting him. I saw the texts on his phone."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there. You stole his phone? I'm impressed." Jett grinned at me.

"I didn't steal his phone. We were at a restaurant the other day, and James got up to use the bathroom and he left his phone on the table and I just…grabbed it. He hadn't deleted the texts. And they came in the same day he called me up to ask me to…_talk_ to him. He talked to Katie before he called me and then after. I bet she talked to him the way he wanted her too."

"So, she's stealing your sexual grip over him, assuming you ever had it."

I grimaced. I wasn't sure I ever had any kind of power over him. It was Katie, all Katie, that much was obvious. I mean, maybe I had had James that day Katie had sexted him, but the second I hung up on him, I had lost him.

"Still think spreading rumors about her is a bad idea?" Jett asked me.

I pressed my lips together. "You know what? I'm going to get back to you on that. We'll see what happens."

He grinned widely. "With Katie in four of Diamond's periods, you've got to have some kind of leverage."

"Like I said, we'll see what happens. Anyway, you better get going. If you find out anything more about James and Katie, text me."

"You know what I heard about their chemistry class?"

"No."

"That they were all over each other. That the sexual tension was intense."

"Yeah, I want that slutty bitch out of the way. I'll talk to James before I do anything, though. But if I can't persuade him to ditch the whore…"

"Katie's going down," Jett smirked.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

_**Wow, so, a lot of stuff happened in this chapter. And Lauren and Jett...talk about deviousness. *Clucks tongue*. Scheming to keep James and Katie apart...Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I would love to hear what you thought of it! Reviews are a writer's best friend, after all ;)**_


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